THE STORY: He’s getting married in the morning, and the enterprising Figaro (servant, barber, professional troublemaker) couldn’t be happier. But with everybody scheming to come between him and his bride, Figaro will need all his cunning to make it down the aisle. This new adaptation of Beaumarchais’ comic masterpiece is not only hilariously funny, but has a razor sharp political edge.
“Mr. Morey strike[s] a deft balance between the popular theater in the age of this work’s setting and a more modern sensibility, flavoring the witty dialogue with just the right infusion of contemporary idioms and mannerisms…Beaumarchais’s mischievous skewering of the aristocracy caused Louis XVI to ban performances until 1784, six years after the play was written. Mr. Morey’s mockery of ruling-class entitlement rekindles that irreverence while also getting in some amusing swipes about the battle of the sexes…tart and funny…the farce takes aim at ruling-class entitlement just as surely today as it did in pre-Revolution France.” —The New York Times.
“Figaro was a character who spoke truth to power, with sharp humor as his best weapon. Thanks to playwright Charles Morey, we’re seeing his 'Figaro-ian schemes’ in a fresh light, in [his] witty, irreverent send-up, titled simply, FIGARO…Morey has peppered traditional dialogue with interjections of modern humor…gleeful fun.” —Associated Press.
“Charles Morey’s saucy and sassy script is not a literal translation and cheerfully acknowledges the more famous opera as well as the fact that we are watching a play. The title scamp often turns to the audience and includes us in his mischievous plans. In addition, there are numerous indirect references to our current political situation, with Figaro snidely railing against the one-percent elite of 18th-century France in the person of his master, the vain and pompous Count Almaviva.” —Backstage.
