George S. Kaufman will get you if you don't watch out. He has a discerning eye that quickly penetrates the veneer of politeness and convention, and a sharp pen that delights in scratching this surface to reveal the selfish struggle within. Among his victims have been the theater in his Royal Family, Hollywood in Once in a Lifetime, national politics in Of Thee I Sing, and now with the aid of Edna Ferber is added the upper quartile of New York society in Dinner at Eight.

The theme with modification might be any dinner party. A cross section is taken of every one involved from the kitchen help to the guests of honor. On the surface all is harmony and remains so where the dinner party is concerned; fashion and convention decree it thus. But beneath the polite notes and telephone calls, beneath the genial conversation are exposed a galaxy of strains and stresses, pent up feelings, and conflicting emotions.

The doctor fights against falling in love with the wife of his friend the business giant while he clutches the secret that a patient, his host, has but a few days to live. The business giant has a threefold task. He must: (1) assist his President in assuaging the nation's economic grief; (2) secretly fleece his host out of a block of stock; and (3) learn the identity of the scoundrel who is seducing his wife. The host tolerates the business giant believing he sees in him the salvation for his own business while he conceals his illness from his family. The cook finds her toothache augmented by a love triangle among the servants which climaxes in the kitchen at serving time. The hostess overcomes her contempt for the fill-in guests while she hides her chagrin over the fact that the guests of honor left for Florida two hours before dinner. And so it goes: serenity on the outside, seething cauldrons within. No one is happy, but all pretend to be.

In addition to clear-cut character depiction and a thorough job of analysis the writers have incorporated a philosophical touch that renders the play well-balanced and stimulating to the imagination.