A Flea in Her Ear
Austin Playhouse
Through May 3
Austin Playhouse has a knack for farcical comedies like Georges Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear. They have the ideal space for it, with multiple entrances and quick passages leading from
one space to the next, so audiences can enjoy lots of clever dashing to and fro. Many of the company actors have worked together for years now, and the tight coordination required by physical comedy is a well-established element in their repertoire.
Taken together, this production, directed by Don Toner, is like an apple pie from a family recipe. Sure, it’s not introducing anything new to the table, but the familiarity is a comfort, and it tastes good going down.
In the play, Raymonde Chandebise (Andrea Osborn) has convinced herself that her husband, upstanding insurance salesman Victor Emmanuel Chandebise (David Stokey), is having an affair, because he has recently and uncharacteristically failed to perform in the bedroom. She confides in her longtime friend Lucienne (Boni Hester), who is married to a passionate, jealous Spaniard in very tight pants (Ben Wolfe). Raymonde enlists Lucienne’s help in devising a trap for Victor Emmanuel, to take place at the nearby Hotel Coq d’Or (which translates as “cock of gold”).
It’s to the credit of the company that the fun starts early in the show, without getting lost in all the buildup and explanations. By the time the set of the Hotel Coq d’Or is constructed before the audience’s eyes during the first of two intermissions, the bright-red drapery and trick bed are just two more goofy elements to a show that is full of mistaken identities, saucy maids, and slapstick fun. Some of the most fun bit characters make their appearances, including the daft Baptistin (Tom Parker) and Olympe (Mary Agen Cox), a madame of some experience. We also meet the drunk bellhop, Poche, who is a dead ringer for Victor Emmanuel, which can happen when the same actor plays both parts. That’s where the real slapstick gets going as characters flee through secret exits, hide behind locked doors, and cower before one truly enraged Spaniard.
There is a particular acting style called for when playing farce, and in this production it seems like just about everyone has studied it but not everyone has decided how much they’re going to apply it. Some actors enjoy the artifice; others play it down for the sake of the audience sitting at close quarters. It leaves one wanting to hold a conference call with the large cast to see if all 13 actors can come to a better agreement. This isn’t to say the show’s a mess or the actors unrehearsed, only that from one scene to the next, there’s a shift in energy. One group plays to the second balcony that isn’t there, and the next plays to the intimate space that is the Austin Playhouse main stage.
In the end, however, A Flea in Her Ear is an enjoyable evening at the theatre. It’s often amusing, and best of all, it seems as though the actors themselves are having a blast. What can an audience do but join them?
This article appears in April 10 • 2009.
