Photo Flash: A FLEA IN HER EAR Closes OCTA's 2018-2019 Season

Olathe Civic Theatre Association closes their 2019 season with the fast-paced farce, A FLEA IN HER EAR. Georges Feydeau's farce, adapted by David Ives, is directed by David Martin. FLEA runs at Olathe Civic Theatre Association May 31-June 16, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm.

David Martin, a veteran actor and director at OCTA, describes the show as a traditional french farce set in modern times with contemporary twists. The leading lady, Raymonde, suspects her suddenly uninterested husband, Victor, is having an affair. Her solution is to cook up a trap to catch him in the act. Hilarity ensues as she and friend, Lucienne Homenides De Histangua, write a false love letter entreating Victor to join a mysterious admirer at the Frisky Puss Hotel. Everything inevitably goes horribly wrong, triggering laug! hs galore. Touted as the "greatest of French farces", and winner of the 2006 Jefferson Award for best adaptation, FLEA achieves levels of glorious ridiculousness only an absurdist of Ives' caliber can bring.

OCTA audiences will love Martin's take on mixed up lovers and those who (almost) get caught in the crossfire. "In deciding to set this show in present day, we are not seeking to make any comment on the current state of affairs in American politics. Think of this as an alternate universe Washington, D.C. along the lines of HOUSE OF CARDS... where powerful people meet, most of them are financially well off, and sex is a constant driving force in daily life. If that isn't Washington, D.C., I don't know what is."

Martin attributes the success of the story to the technical brilliance of his design staff. The characters are hilarious, but the context of the flurry of activity is what makes the audience really chuckl! e. The Frisky Puss Hotel, where lovers come to meet, is the location of most of the frisky flurry. Audiences will be amazed to see how set designer, Bill Wright, worked with the rest of the creative team to construct a surprise two-story set on the OCTA stage.

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