The theatrical meets the farcical: A Flea in Her Ear.
The mad romp of a show opened last weekend at 2nd Story Theatre. It's light, fast and funny. In the emotionally nourishing world of theater, this 1907 play by Georges Feydeau is candy: full of energy, void of nutrients.
Eat up. Care less about cavities.
There are no life lessons here, other than that it's good to laugh. And, possibly, in this multi-tasking era, that it's good to see two events at once: a theatrical production and what amounts to an indoor track meet.
Fourteen actors, playing 15 parts, make more than 300 entrances and exits in the course of the play. They come and go through — depending upon the act — anywhere from five to eight portals: doors, gate, window and stairway.
In the most memorable scene, the second act of three, each character pursues another, collectively looking like a dog chasing its tail. Everyone's screaming and running, crisscrossing the stage, opening and closing doors, running, running for their lives, their marriages, their mistresses, their exercise — who knows.
Yes, it looks stupid, and feels frenzied. But that's the goal.
It's funny.
Explaining why it's funny is hard to do. The play's plot is absurdly convoluted. The absurdity comes from many, many instances of mistaken identities and misinterpreted intentions.
Wives fear their husbands are being unfaithful; and husbands fear the same. Sometimes they're right; sometimes they're not.
Sexual innuendo is everywhere; so is sexual statement and gesture.
As farces go, this is a good one. While at times it moves with a mania, there are lulls. It's cyclical. Characters are established. A multi-layered plot is presented. Bedlam breaks loose. Order's restored, slowly.
At the heart of the story is a well-to-do gentleman, Chandebise, played by Jim Sullivan. And equally important is the lowly and unsophisticated character of Poche, played by Jim Sullivan.
That's right: same guy, different roles. This is the idea of two unrelated people who look exactly alike and live in the same area, which, of course, causes great confusion.
Sullivan presents Chandebise, a successful businessman, as intelligent and sophisticated, and Poche, a hotel bellhop, as an alcoholic, bumbling idiot. And in one stunning instance, he plays both parts at once.
In that scene, Chandebise is chased by a man who suspects him of having an affair with his wife. This man is Histangua, a Spaniard, who, to perhaps underscore his ethnicity, wears a maroon matador's outfit. He's played by Luis Astudillo, who speaks with a strong Spanish accent and lisp, and becomes hysterical — in an emotional and comical way.
Histangua catches Chandebise going through a doorway, holds him by the arm and tries to pull him back. And as he struggles to do so, Poche comes through another door.
Huh?
The story takes place place in Chandebise's house and in a hotel notorious for illicit trysts, which involves everyone in the play: Chandebise; his wife Raymonde, played by Rachel Morris; their friends Tournel, played by Ryan Maxwell, and Histangua and his wife Lucienne, played by Hillary Parker, who sometimes quarrel in Spanish, for which, because of their tone and gestures, no translation is needed.
Also visiting the hotel is Chandebise's doctor, Finache, played by John Michael Richardson; and Chandibese's servants: Antoinette, the cook, played by Monique Shaghalian; Phillipe, the butler, played by Tom Roberts, founding director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and husband of Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts; and Camille, a young servant, played by Dillon Medina.
The role of Camille is also key. He has a speech impediment, unable to pronounce consonants, which makes Medina sometimes resort to mime-like gestures to convey his thoughts. The other characters rarely understand him, but the audience can tell what he's saying, which is often funny.
Another case of mistaken identity: when Camille receives a retainer for his mouth, enabling him to speak, everyone thinks he is somebody else.
Perhaps the funniest case of mistaken identity involves the hotel owner, Ferraillon, played by Vince Petronio, who treats Poche, his bellhop, like a stubborn donkey, constantly kicking him. So, when Chandebise, Poche's look-a-like, appears at the hotel, or anywhere else that Ferraillon is, he takes a bewildering beating.
This production, directed by Ed Shea, makes use of an efficiently designed stage, created by Tristan Jeffers. A back wall of curtained windows is removed for the second act, turning Chandibese's living room into a hotel, revealing a stairway and a front desk. But most importantly, there's the well-executed revolving bed, which at the pull of a cord, a trapped lover may escape, spinning into the adjacent room and brining out the hotel's designated decoy for such instances: Ferraillon's mother, played by Pam Faulkner.
The whole thing is hard to explain, but enjoyable to see.
You want the good news or the bad news?
The bad news is that Passions, the cult hit soap opera, has been cancelled.
The good news is that 2nd Story has an absolute winning production of A Flea in Her Ear with all the goods to rival any soap opera on network television, except maybe Telemundo.
Sex, mistaken identities, mischievous plotting, a revolving bed and two spicy Spaniards... what more could you want? Okay, okay, they also throw in an angry German, a topless woman and a poor kid with a speech impediment.
Sounding funny yet?
Take a ridiculous script by French farceur Georges Feydeau, mix in strong, highly focused direction by Ed Shea, and add a super frenetic cast and you've got one of the funniest things happening around town.
The plot, like the entire run of Passions, is absurd and over-the-top, but that's what makes it all so fun:
Raymonde Chandebise (Rachel Morris) is a beautiful young woman living in turn of the century France and has suspicions that her husband Victor (Jim Sullivan) is cheating on her after he can't perform sexually (one anachronistic little blue pill could have stopped all the insanity that is about to shake down.)
Raymonde hatches a plot with her best gal-pal Lucienne (Hilary Parker) to confirm her allegations by setting her husband up with a letter written by Lucienne, posing as a secret admirer. She arranges for them to have a steamy rendezvous at a hotel called the Swaggering Cock. (That's right, the Swaggering Cock-How do I get a reservation?)
That's when best laid plans go awry as the letter ends up attracting Victor's friend Tournel (Ryan Maxwell) instead of Victor, which sets into motion a hilarious domino effect of mistaken identities, lewd acts and very heated arguments.
A well intentioned Dr. Finache (John Michael Richardson) ends up showing this devious letter to Luciennes' hot blooded Spaniard husband Carlos (Luis Astudillo) and everyone ends up entangled in sheer madness during a side-splitting second act which takes place at, where else, the Swaggering Cock, of course.
With a motley crew of hotels servants and extremely eclectic guests, it all so exhaustingly joyful to watch with far too many mirthy bits and sight gags to mention.
Of course, all is set right in the end and everyone ends up funny ever after, but it's marvelous to behold this wondrous journey Shea and this solid peppy cast take us on from start to end.
Stand out performance by Jim Sullivan as the poor husband, who doubles also as a dumb-witted alcoholic bellhop named Poche. In a recurring gag, the two obviously identical men continuously get mistaken by everyone and is repeatedly beaten by the hotel owner (played by Vince Petronio.)
He even found a role where Luis Astudillo's unintelligibly thick accent actually works for him. In one of the many funny scenes, Astudillo and Parker have a riotous wedded spat entirely in Spanish.
Practically stealing the show was Camille, a consonantly challenged errand boy, played just pitch-perfect by Dillon Medina.
Ed Shea is usually perfectly content having absolutely no kind of set what so ever, but for this production he enlisted Tristan Jeffers to create their best set since Betty's Summer Vacation several seasons ago. It's an incredibly versatile, lavish and masterfully designed set that couldn't be better suited for a French farce.
The vast number of doors alone makes for great comedy with doors slamming shut and others continuously flying open with the next big surprise.
A real revolving bed spins round and round revealing a sexual suitor, usually the wrong one.
People come and go from under the stairs.
Now that's funny.
Ultra fun costumes by Ron Cesario (and serious lack of costume in one particular moment) only add to this lively romp.
Shea's superb direction keeps the motor of the play, as well as its 300 entrances and exits, running smoother than a Swiss clock.
A Flea in Her Ear makes for one fabulously silly night out.
The cast looked like they were having a ball on stage. I know I was in the audience.
Friends, do you find yourselves feeling glum and moody these days? Is there a scowl on your face and no song in your heart? You may well be suffering from funnybone dysfunction, but fear not, this kindly critic has a remedy for you. Go see "A Flea in Her Ear" at 2nd Story Theatre. But be warned, side effects include occasional side-splittedness and gasping for breath. If you're still laughing too hard eight hours later consult your physician and tell him to see the play.
"A Flea in Her Ear" is a racy and ever so slightly risqué French farce by Georges Feydeau. "Feydeau didn't create the French farce but he certainly perfected it", says the play's Director Ed Shea. He's right but it must be added that Mr. Shea has added considerable shine and polish all his own to the show not the least of which is the nimble and nifty new translation by 2nd Story's own Ryan Maxwell.
The form of farce is like that of a Rube Goldberg cartoon, an elaborately ridiculous construction outfitted with plenty of booby traps for its protagonists. To the delight of us in the audience what we see assembled at 2nd Story is more akin to a Rube Goldberg rollercoaster ride, a deliberate set-up building to a fast and furious execution of the plays precise pratfalls delivered with the greatest of ease.
This works because the 2nd Story cast takes the utterly ridiculous absolutely seriously onstage, here is farce performed straight faced and fast paced, the collective comic timing never impaired by nudging and winking. Each beat is too fast for a rim-shot anyway.
The plot consists, of course, of mistaken identities and misunderstandings with everybody trying to get to the bottom of somebody else's naughty little secret. This is all too detailed to explain without the use of a playbook but then I don't need to. The cast has delineated so clearly the details of all these comic intrigues that even when they all storm the stage in a madcap melee we know precisely what's going on. And the preposterous payoff provokes explosive laughter.
As Chandebise, whose lost suspenders puts all this madness into motion, Jim Sullivan is warm, winning and eminently affable. He's a charming nebbish who can't quite believe the attention that's paid to him. He executes his quick changes so mind-bogglingly fast that one might think he has a stunt double stashed someplace. As Poche, one Sullivan James (you figure it out) is equally sweet and a perfect fool to boot.
John Michael Richardson creates the perfect pitch of deadpan irony as Dr. Finache and this, along with Ryan Maxwell's debonair Tournel helps to ground the show in the early goings.
Dillon Medina's speechless Camille (the character has a condition in which he can't pronounce consonants, naturally) is priceless, his expressive face tells you all you need to know and might well be the envy of a Charlie Chaplin or Harpo Marx.
Luis Astudillo's maniacally jealous Histangua, a Spaniard of fierce countenance and "leethping eengleeth" delivery is also a hoot.
Vince Petronio and Paula Faber comprise a delightfully dissolute pair of seedy Hotel proprietors. Hillary Parker and Rachel Morris, as a pair of wives who seek to nip deception in the bud, charm with insouciant jour-de-vivre. Each are quick and just catty enough and they, like their machinations, drive the show.
Truth be told, there's not a wrong not hit by any member of the cast, the entire list of which is too long to name individually.
Appropriate to this comic construction, Tristan Jeffers' Set Design is the most elaborate yet at 2nd Story. Usually at this Theatre very little scenery is required for a little world to be created, but a door slamming farce requires more than just doors and here a detailed playground has been built for this merry romp. There's a different set for each Act, watching the changes during intermission becomes a little production number onto itself.
To over analyze comedy serves only to deflate that famous funnybone, and it's a pure pleasure to sit back, relax and just laugh out loud without having to think too much. 2nd Story has served up an exquisite comic soufflé, cooked with airy perfection by Master Chef Ed Shea and "A Flea in Her Ear" is a coup de theatre, magnifique!
French playwright George Feydeau finally succumbed to syphilis after a pretty good run of debauchery between 1862 and 1921. If 2nd Story Theatre's version of "A Flea in Her Ear" is in any way an indication of Feydeau's lust for life, then he must have had one heck of a run.
Artistic Director Ed Shea leaves no door unopened (or shut) as he masterfully oversees a fine cast of 2nd Story regulars through hundreds of perfectly timed entrances and exits and a plot so outrageous you dare not question its genius. For this one, you can leave your thinking cap at home and just sit back and revel in two hours of non-stop belly laughs.
The story unfolds in two locations: the posh upper-class French residence of happily-married Raymonde (Rachel Morris) and Chandebise (Jim Sullivan) and a bawdy brothel appropriately named the Swaggering Cock (SC). Both set locations were exquisitely designed by Tristan Jeffers and built to withstand the rigors of slamming doors, rotating bed chambers and characters bounding up the down staircase. Ron Cesario's costumes and Ron Allen's lighting design work in perfect concert with Jeffers' design to replicate the digs of early 20th century Paris and set the mood for the madcap farce.
When you combine 2nd Story's technical expertise and production values with unflawed performances by the leads and actors in supporting roles in a classic comedy, you will undoubtedly be treated to an excellent evening of theater. In this production, there are so many fine performances, it is difficult to highlight them all, but I will try. Sullivan doubling in the roles of Chandebise and Poche exudes enough energy and physical comedy to carry the show on his own; but he doesn't have to because he has plenty of help.
Hillary Parker plays the hot-blooded wife of the even hotter blooded Spaniard, Histangua (Luis Astudillo); they orchestrate the mayhem that drives the story forward and in about every other direction imaginable. The pistol-toting Histangua mistakenly thinks himself the cuckold and to their horror takes aim at everybody in sight to satisfy his honor. As the faithful but doubting wife, Rachel Morris portrays Raymonde with a veneer of innocence that hardly covers her seething sexuality. Tom Roberts plays Raymonde's butler; Monique Shaghalian plays his wife, Antoinette, Raymonde's cook and a woman who enjoys a dalliance of her own from time to time.
Dillon Medina portrays Chandebise's supposedly naive nephew, Camille; however, Camille is a hardcore womanizer and a frequent "flyer" at the SC. Camille also has a speech impediment which prevents him from pronouncing any consonants, but as the farce becomes more and more comical and incomprehensible, strangely enough, Camille's speech becomes easier to understand.
Ferraillon (Vince Petronio) is the proprietor of the SC, and he is ably supported by his wife Olympe (Paula Faber), a former prostitute with a twat of gold (or something like that). These two are the only "stable" characters in Feydeau's wacky world, and they are a delight trying to control every move of the upstairs and downstairs maid (Juli Parker) and Poche, an alcoholic bellhop and look-alike of Chandebise. Pam Faulkner as Feraillon's mother rides a rotating bed in her son's brothel to provide a cover for the brothel's true purpose, and Eric Behr plays a German patron who just "can't get no satisfaction." But the audience is given some measure of it when Antoinette rushes across the stage with her bare hands covering her bare breasts as she escapes the German's perceived territorial prerogative.
Rounding out the cast are John Michael Richardson as the not-so-good Dr. Finache and Ryan Maxwell as Tournel, a handsome man-about-town. Their performances are precise and their comic-timing is perfect. But that has become the norm at 2nd Story. Ed Shea and his gifted cast and crew have put together a truly delightful evening of theater with the resurrection of this fabulous Feydeau farce. Don't miss it!
Forced farce is worse than no farce at all, even when you need some badly. But Georges Feydeau could let the hilarious times roll with the pratfall ease of tripping with an armload of baguettes. His most famous comedy, A Flea In Her Ear (through February 25), is getting a Vite! Vite! rendition by 2nd Story Theatre, in a sprightly translation by one of the performing members, no less.
This being 2nd Story, when we sit down and notice set designer Tristan Jeffers’s two pairs of doors facing each other across a living room carpet (more will be added for the second act), we know they will be opened and closed with enthusiasm. Since it’s under Ed Shea’s animated direction, after all, you half expect the furniture to start dashing about.
This play is 100 years old this year, and Ryan Maxwell – who plays the recreationally amorous Romain Tournel – had as much fun on the page as he has on the stage, translating the play’s timeless theme of infidelity and the even more comical suspicion thereof. The hilarity is retained and freshness is gained. Even changing the name of a tryst hotel from the Coq d’Or to the Swaggering Cock retains the double meaning while updating the imagery.
Much of the fun here is amplified by the irony of the central character being innocent of any hanky-panky, at least this time around. Chandebise (Jim Sullivan) is not only not fooling around on his wife, he’s not even fooling around with her. Temporary impotence because of a psychological nervous condition has been keeping him from depriving his wife of sleep through anything more raucous than snoring. For her part, Raymonde (Rachel Morris) assumes that he has a mistress. All this is swiftly set up, under the credits, so to speak.
Feydeau’s plot constructions have been compared to antiphonal fugues, and he certainly strikes plenty of carefully considered notes here. Raymonde’s confidante is her visiting friend Lucienne (Hillary Parker), the wife of a Spaniard, which to French audiences was shorthand for hot temper and irrational jealousy. We get the picture even before her husband, Carlos Homenides de Histangua (Luis Astudillo), eventually appears in a toreador costume, nostrils flaring.
Too cleverly for her own good, Raymonde has Lucienne write an unsigned perfumed letter to her husband, Chandebise, saying that she was smitten at first glance, seeing him at the theater, and is tearfully begging an assignation that evening. In a plausible characterizing touch, the modest Chandebise assumes that the woman misidentified him as the handsome young man who was with him that evening, Tournel (Maxwell), and sends him to the hotel in his place.
Don’t all those lit fuses make you smile already? I didn't even mention the jealous butler Philippe (Tom Roberts) and his wife, the maid Antoinette (Monique Shaghalian), who gives him good reason to be suspicious. Before long, nearly everyone is hot-footing about, fluttering their hands in the air. But Feydeau, not satisfied with sight gags, tosses in a sound gag: the speech impediment of Chandebise’s nephew Camille (Dillon Medina). He is unable to enunciate consonants. That is funny enough in casual conversation, but it gets rollicking when the message is something like “Run for your life!”
Medina milks those opportunities with wide-eyed innocence. Feydeau is juggling so many balls that, unfortunately, he doesn’t take much advantage of a clever gimmick that allows Camille to speak normally: a silver palate devised by Dr. Finache (John Michael Richardson) that he loses and finds again. But once they are at the hotel, with all those extra doors to slam, there's plenty else to slap knees about. Proprietor Ferraillon (Vince Petronio) never wears more than undershirt and shorts, and he’s beamingly proud over his wife Olympe (Paula Faber) having been such a high-priced hooker in her day. A horny German (Eric Behr) who doesn’t speak English thinks that every woman who shows up is the prostitute he’s ordered.
Sullivan trusts the situation to be funny, so he establishes Chandebise as a naturalistic, hapless Everyman at the beginning, before things get wacky. And we know from previous productions that Sullivan certainly can handle wacky. Upon demand, that’s also so for the rest of this delightful ensemble of 15. Particularly enjoying himself is Astudillo, who normally has a charming Chilean accent and here can ratchet it up to a Castilian lisp – and wave pistols around, to boot.
Known for presenting comedies with the briskness of farce, 2nd Story Theatre can be relied on to deliver farce with breezy, double-time confidence. Between laugh-meister Feydeau, ringmaster Shea, and humor-transmuter Maxwell, A Flea In Her Ear is great fun, indeed.
2nd Story’s artistic director, Ed Shea, likes to come out at the beginning of a play to say a few words about what to watch for in the play and what he thinks the author was trying to convey to the audience. This is very helpful in many productions, such as their upcoming Major Barbara and The Madwoman of Chaillot.
For Feydeau’s turn-of-the-century comedy, however, Shea suggests that “It is what it is. There’s nothing to think about.” That is so true… and what makes the farce such a delight.
Shea does mention that there are over 300 entrances in this dizzying production. Handled poorly, this could be a disaster. But not under his directions and a top-notch cast of 14 actors that know a good script and, literally, run with it. There are more doors on stage than in my house, and they are all used with perfect timing.
Acts I and III take place in the home of Chandebise (a hilarious Jim Sullivan), where the wealthy homeowner has been accused of a bit of debauchery by his wife. The plot thickens as a slew of characters bounce in and out, getting directly or indirectly involved in the affair.
Mistaken identities, look-alike characters, little fibs, misunderstandings, close calls and all of the elements that go into slapstick, rat-a-tat comedy will have you gasping for enough breath to continue laughing.
Dillon Medina is hilarious in the challenging role of Chandebise’ nephew, Camille, a frustrated young man who speaks only in vowels. In a play where the entire ensemble has a chance to chew up the scenery, he excels in his appetite.
John Michael Richardson has a pivotal role as Dr. Finache, adding to his growing list of comic characters.
There’s an upstairs/downstairs element in the French farce, led by Tom Roberts as the butler and Vince Petronio and Paula Faber as the brothel owners. The brothel scene is as wild and crazy as it gets, taking over the second act in a whirlwind half hour that will leave the audience, and the actors, breathless.
Stagehands do a marvelous job in rolling up rugs, taking down curtains and refitting the scenery, only to have to repeat the job in Act III. Tristan Jeffers and Candis Dixon are responsible for the creative sets, and the talented Ron Cesario excel with the costumes.
2nd Story, known for its modest scenery, goes all out for this one, and it works marvelously, right down to a revolving bed and an arm stuck in a door (a clever move that stopped the play due to cheers from the surprised audience.
Everything gets resolved in the third act, and the audience goes home with little to ponder, except for the cleverness and hilarity of the production.
Luis Astudillo, who hasn’t been seen on stage recently, is hysterically funny as Histangua, using his real Spanish accent to its fullest. And watch for this character Poche, played by Sullivan James (Ha-Ha), who is as funny as Jim Sullivan.
Credit to the rest of the ensemble cast: Dillon Medina, Monique Shagalian, Hillary Parker, Rachel Morris, Juli Parker, Pam Faulkner and Eric Behr.
This is one of those old-fashioned comedies, filled with puns, racy moments and sexual references, but never “dirty.” As Shea says, “It is what it is.” And what it is is good, old-fashioned, funny farce at its best.