Review: A FLEA IN HER EAR at Brookfield Theatre

David Ives’s new version of Georges Feydeau’s farce, A Flea in Her Ear is an ambitious three-act play for any small theater, but the Brookfield Theatre more than rises to it. Named one of the greatest farces ever written, it takes a lot to mount the play. You need a stage large enough to accommodate a cast of 14 players and part of a set that turns.

Like all farces, A Flea in Her Ear requires a talented cast to juggle mistaken identities, multiple subplots, jealousy, often period wit and mannerisms of the time, speed, slamming doors and revolving beds.

Here's the story. It is the Belle Epoque, and Raymonde Chandebise (Rebecca Annalise) is certain that her husband Victor (Gus Bottazzi) is unfaithful. She asks her longtime friend, Lucienne Homenides de Histangua (Anya Nardone) to cook up a plot to catch him at the Frisky Puss Hotel with another woman. They compose a love letter to Victor by an anonymous huntress in which he is requested to meet her at the Frisky Puss Hotel. Victor is flattered, of course, but a comment by his younger friend Romain Tournel (Liam McGrath) makes him realize that he is not the object of the mysterious woman’s affection. Lucienne’s hot-blooded husband, Don Carlos Homenides de Histangua (Andrés Idrovo Castillo) later sees the letter. Recognizing his wife’s handwriting, he believes that she and Victor will have a rendezvous. Victor’s nephew, Camille (Colin McLoone) and lecherous physician Dr. Finache (Daniel J. Mulvihill, Jr.) are no strangers to the brothel run by the bullying Ferraillon (Dean Alexander) and his wife Olympia (Michele Rosa), who has a past she can’t quite shed. Following them to the Frisky Puss are the Chandebises’ butler Etienne, (Vincent D’Ambrosio) and their maid Antoinette (Desi Kelley), where they bump into the hotel’s hapless British guest Rugby (Jon Barker), housecleaner Eugenie (Maya Bosco-Schmidt), drunken bellboy Poche (also played by Gus Bottazzi), and the hotel’s constantly kvetching elderly decoy Baptiste (Rick Stewart).

The play is ideal for all the performers because each has an opportunity to steal a scene and get boisterous laughs from the audience. Nevertheless, there are some standouts including Colin McLoone whose character cannot pronounce consonants until the good doctor gives him a silver palate for his mouth. (Try saying a complete sentence without consonants and you will appreciate McLoone’s excellent performance.) Gus Bottazzi shone in the dual roles of Victor and Poche, especially in the third act when each of his characters comes in and out of door and confuses everyone. Rebecca Annalise and Anya Nardone are believable as lifelong friends. Andrés Idrovo Castillo is charismatic as Don Carlos. Dean Alexander and Michele Rosa are well-suited as the couple who run the Frisky Puss. Jon Barker impeccably plays the British guest without mocking him for his lucklessness. (BTW, Barker is making his stage debut in this show.) Daniel J. Mulvihill, Jr. plays Dr. Finache as a combination old friend and con artist. (You just wouldn’t want him as your physician.) Vincent D’Ambrosio gives a lot of dimension to the role of the butler – accustomed to his employers’ follies yet remaining responsible for everything to run smoothly. Desi Kelley is charming as the Chandebises’ maid. Liam McGrath is a standout as Victor’s egotistical lapdog Romain Tournel. Maya Bosco-Schmidt has the smallest role as Eugenie, the maid at the Frisky Puss, but she makes the most of it with her sauciness and quick wit. When Ferraillon admonishes her “All our guests are married,” Eugenie immediately cracks, “But not to each other.” Rick Stewart, as the elderly decoy Baptiste, whose only qualification for the job is that he is Ferraillon’s uncle, also has some funny lines. “How did you get here?” asks Raymonde when she sees him in the room her husband is supposed to be in. “By bus,” deadpans Baptiste.

As if the excellent performances weren’t enough, the people behind the scenes did a formidable job. Kudos to Eric and Tony Bosco-Schmidt for their flawless direction. Rebecca Pokorski-Cebellero’s costumes are exquisite. Andrew Okell’s set design and Bob Lane’s set creation are impressive, especially considering the demands of the play, its large cast, and the theater’s mid-size stage. I want set decorator Annie Eckman to come to my house to zhuzh it up with the French furniture she had on stage. Stephen Cihanek’s lighting and Bill Sopchak’s sound were just right for the set.

A Flea in Her Ear runs through March 15 at the Brookfield Theatre. 184 Whisconier Road (Route 25) in Brookfield. The theatre is right behind the library. For tickets call (203) 775-0023 or visit www.BrookfieldTheatre.org.

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