Word: feydeau
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...What he does not know is that they are about to slink back. In no time, sheiks and burglars are added to the mix, along with the mandatory defrocking of women and the depantsing of men and doors popping open and slamming shut as if by the ghost of Feydeau...
...Please Don't Walk Around in the Nude, we are touched by Feydeau's comic madness from the outset. Ventroux (Phil Kirby), a French politician, is trying to explain to his wife, Clarisse (Nancy Cotton), that it is indecent for their son to see her wearing only her slip. She doesn't understand what is wrong with this or, for that matter, with her being seen in her nightgown by household servants, peeping-tom neighbors, and even Hochepaix, the mayor of a nearby town. The play's central conflict is caused when Clarisse's ingenuous and disputable logic meets...
WHILE MUCH OF THE HUMOR in Feydeau's work comes from the bizarre nature of the characters and situations, the force of the puns seems to have been lost in this translation by Robert Chapman, professor of English Literature. Hochepaix, for instance, tries to explain the pronunciation of the last syllable of his name in this witty exchange: "Pay. Not Pee. P-A-I-X." To which Ventroux replies, smugly. "Oh, I beg your pardon. Pay, not Pee. Unintentional error, of course." Similarly, Clarisse doesn't understand why Ventroux is upset that Hochepaix called him a "pretty pair of sights...
Immediately after the end of the first one-act play, the second one. "Capital Crime, Parisian Punishment," begins after a brief set change. Written by George Feydeau, the play consists of condemned prisoner's monologue. Played by Peter L. Stein, the prisoner agonizes over his hopeless fate as he relates the story of his imprisonment and subsequent sentence of death. Through the prisoner's dimwitted innocence and straightforward telling of the absurd facts of this supposed crime, the play mocks the injustices of the French judicial system in the late 1890s. Stein's performance is startling as he maintains...
AFTER an intermission offering of a broad selection of cheeses, the evening resumes with Feydeau's one act, full-fledged farce "Fit to be Tried." The set of a detailed French drawing room incorporates the fireplace and closets already in the room. The four actors from the other two plays reappear as the major characters in the comedy of misidentifications, adultery, and murder. As Pepita Passionelle, Wagman expressively plays the emotionally fluctuating role of a neurotic actress. In one scene, she breaks into an uncontrollable hysteria then suddenly reverts to her previous composure. Samuels as Camembert, La Passionelle's husband...