A little known Neil Simon comedy
proved to be one of our mid-season delightful and
hilarious surprises.  The Mike Nichols-directed play
had a limited run when it opened off Broadway in 1981,
but has been a popular work with high schools, college and
community theatres since, allowing actors to let characterazation
of empty-headedness fly! The play was first presented by
the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School
Drama Group, then by The Players
the following year.
The action takes
place in 1890 in a remote
Ukrainian village, as the new
teacher arrives to discover that all the
villagers are under the spell of the regional
lovelorn and bitter Count, who has put a curse
on all, rendering them absolutely stupid! The curse
is based on love lost - and lost again - and of course,
the curse is reversed by the end of all the
delightful silliness, as in any good fable!
The cast in this hilarious
play were The Players with most
stage experience, capable of taking the
comedy to it’s outrageous limits, as they
played it over-the-top - making
absolute
FOOLS
of themselves!