Lust, Lies & Marriage
Directed by Antonio Fava
Music by Antonio Fava
April 4 – May 10, 2008
A world premiere directed by the internationally acclaimed master of Italian comedy, Antonio Fava.
In the play, Dottore tells his daughter she'll be marrying Lelio when all she wants to do is marry the handsome Orazio. A foreign woman named Celia falls in love with the same Orazio while another gentlemen named Odoardo falls in love with her.
What's a servant or two to do but dress up in disguise and help his love-struck masters figure the whole mess out! Add an enchanted well, a wily thief, a voluptuous inn-keeper, and greedy fathers and you've got a classic set-up for an Italian farce, Commedia dell'Arte style!
The script, found in 1896 among 176 other scenarios in Casamarciano in the province of Naples, Italy, had been lost for over two centuries.
It then languished in the Biblioteca Nazionale of Naples for another century. Italian scholars endeavored to study and transcribe the text. The English translation has only been available in the past few years. They represent the most important discovery in Commedia dell'Arte history.
Here's what our critics say:
"One of the merriest plays I've seen in some time. A show of high spirits and whimsy." –Barbara Vitello, Pioneer Local
Recommended! "A wonderfully funny night at the theatre." – Tom Williams, ChicagoCritic.com
"Fava's Piccolo troupe has a strong sense of action, comic timing, and physical contrast." –Jonathan Abarbanel, Windy City Times
