“A Flea in My Ear” buzzes with laughs at The Hilberry
DETROIT, Mich.–Theatre goers who might be put off by the idea of a French play translated into English can rest assured that “A Flea in her Ear” will not overwhelm with intellect. On the contrary, the Hilberry Theatre’s production of the farce resulted in plenty of belly laughs and “Oh my!” exclamations from the opening night audience.
A Flea in Her Ear (in French: La Puce à L’oreille) is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907. But the theme of a possible marital infidelity is timeless. The Hilberry’s final production in its 53rd season is a new version by acclaimed playwright David Ives. Set in 1950s Paris, Raymonde Chandebise (Mary Sansone) is the upper-class wife of insurance mogul Victor Chandebise (Michael Phillip Thomas). She suspects he is having an affair because of his recent lack of attention in the bedroom, so she enlists her best friend, Lucienne (Antonia LaChe), in a scheme to catch him in the act. The duo craft a love letter designed to lure Victor to the local by-the-hour motel, appropriately named the Frisky Puss Hotel.
The plot gets piled on when Lucienne’s husband, the volatile Don Carlos Homenides De Histangua (Santino Craven) recognizes his wife’s handwriting in the letter in Victor’s possession and vows to kill both her and lover. Victor has already passed the proposal off to his best friend Tournel (Ernest Bentley), who he believes the letter was actually intended for. One additional twist: Tourney has the hots for Raymonde. Director Shelley Butler manages to keep all the actors’ plates in the air for a delightful time.
A standout performance is given by LaChe, who garnered spontaneous applause from the audience after an especially physical scene in the third act. Also noteworthy is Thomas, who not only plays Victor, but also Poche, the alcoholic bellman at the Frisky Puss. His rapid shift from character to character in the third act was remarkable and dizzying. His appearance in the second act as Poche at first is confusing, until you realize that the rest of the cast is equally confused and doesn’t realize that Victor and Poche are lookalikes and actually different people.
Also noteworthy is the remarkable set, from scenic designer Tonae Mitsuhashi, which includes a lazy-suzan style bedroom at the Frisky Puss. Buttons on the wall allow hotel patrons to hide if necessary by disappearing into a neighboring room and the hilarious Baptiste (played opening night and April 23 by Yakeem Tatum and the rest of the run by Brandon A. Wright) to appear instead. Baptiste, who suffers from leg ailments which keep him in bed, is kept on hand to give the air of propriety to the mostly illicit hotel. Besides the crazy bed, the beautiful period-perfect wallpaper in both scenes, furniture and other decor are well-done.
Supporting characters add to the hilarity. Victor’s nephew Camille (Kyle Mitchell Johnson), who has a speech impediment (being unable to pronounce consonants) and leads people to lose patience with him, is especially funny. He receives a silver palate to correct his impediment from Dr. Finache (Cody Robison), but promptly loses it at the hotel where he is a frequent guest despite being thought a virgin by Victor and Raymonde. The Chandebise housekeeping staff members–Antoinette (Wesley Cady) and Etienne (Michael Manocchio)–are married and their bickering is mildly amusing. In contrast to Raymond’s incorrect theory of Victor having an affair, Etienne thinks his wife is faithful to a fault, while in reality she is having a dalliance with Camille. Etienne’s exchange with Dr. Finahce, who pronounces his pains to be in the location of the ovaries, also is amusing.
The crazed hotel proprietor Ferraillon (Nick Stockwell) terrorizes Victor, who he mistakes for his employer Poche. An English hotel guest, Rugby (James Kern), also adds to the levity with his periodic appearances asking if anyone has been asking for him (the poor guy can’t get a break in the romance department). Hotel staff include chambermaid Eugenie (Devri Chism) and Ferraillion’s wife Olympia (Tiffany Michelle Thompson).
The two-hour performance includes two 10-minute intermissions so the set can be changed from the Chandebise home to the Frisky Puss and then back to the Chandebise home for the final act. Time flies and the crescendoed conclusion of the play hits spot on, wrapping up all of the sub-plots neatly.