Why do 'Fools fall in Love? Ladies, brace yourself for the ride of your life, with the most charming, seductive scoundrel on stage - Don Juan, fool of the 'Fools! DC's outrageous Commedia dell'Arte troupe, Faction of Fools Theatre Company presents Moliere's Don Juan. L'amour the Merrier! Now on stage through October 6 at Elstad Auditorium at Gallaudet University. Old fashioned chivalry, trickery and plain ol' fool-ery at it's best will make you clamoring for more from this A-talent cast of masked characters led by local favorite, Sun King Davis as Don Juan.
Life after death; love at first sight; and more of life's complexities may be answered during this comedy by Molière -- freely adapted and directed by two-time Helen Hayes nominee Matthew R. Wilson. The very talented cast includes Sun King Davis (STC's Henry V; WSC's Ceasar & Dada, The Mistorical Hystery of Henry (I)V) plays the title role, joined by his trusted servant Sganarelle, played by Charlie Retzlaff (Maryland Shakespeare Festival; Constellation’s On the Razzle). Three versatile actors play four to six roles each to round out the world: Bess Kaye brings to life both Don Juan’s jilted lover Donna Elvira and her fuming brother Don Carlos. Hannah Sweet portrays a host of peasants, cavaliers, and beggars as well as Don Juan’s father Don Louis, and Matthew Taylor Strote embodies both the melancholy Pierrot and the severe Statue of the Commander.
So what's so Italian about Moliere? Jean-Baptiste “Molière” Poquelin (1622-1673) was both a father of French national drama and a dramatist in the Italian tradition of Commedia dell’Arte. He literally shared a stage with Paris’s finest Commedia troupe and “borrowed” many of their plots, characters, and conventions in creating his own plays.
Faction of Fools’ version of Molière's classic tale is freshly adapted and directed by Founding Artistic DirectorMatthew R. Wilson (The Hub's Act a Lady, Faction's A Commedia Christmas Carol, Hamlecchino, R&J,The Mandrake,The House with Two Doors). In this DON JUAN, not only do statues come to life, but Don Juan is also subject to the whims of other works of material culture. The play is set in a protean art museum outfitted with ever-changing paintings and ambulatory statues, brought to life by multi-talented theatre artist Klyph Stanford (Folger's Henry VIII - Helen Hayes nomination; Rep Stage's Hysteria - Helen Hayes nomination;Woolly Mammoth; Constellation; Theatre J; Signature; Imagination Stage), who designs the Set, Lights, and Projections. French neo-classical costumes are designed by Denise Umland (Rep Stage; Wolf Trap; WSC, Faction's A Commedia Christmas Carol,Hamlecchino), and Sound and Music is supplied by Neil McFadden (8-time Helen Hayes nominee; Roundhouse; Studio Theatre; Arena; Woolly Mammoth; Folger). Aaron Cromie(Faction's The Lady Becomes Him, Hamlecchino,R&J, The Mandrake; Folger's Comedy of Errors, Two Gentlemen of Verona) returns to design Masks, and Props by Ellen Houseknechtcap off the capricious world of Don Juan's exploits.
Don Juan presented by Faction of Fools Theatre Company. Elstad Auditorium at Gallaudet University 800 Florida Ave NE WDC (Free parking! Metro access: Red line. NoMa/Gallaudet) Now through Sunday, October 6, 2013 For tickets and more information For more information, visit http://www.factionoffools.org/donjuan
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