Michael Kahn, artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the STC by opening a world premiere of a play that is as bubbly as champagne: Jean-Francois Regnard’s 1708 comic masterpiece, “The Heir Apparent,” in the form of a new adaptation by David Ives. “It’s a light-as-air play,” says Kahn, who is directing the show. “Regnard is a playwright who came along right after Moliere, He was originally in the Italian commedia dell’arte theater in Paris and eventually became a big star of the Comedie Francaise as a writer. This play has a very funny premise behind it.”
“The Heir Apparent” is about two young people, Eraste and Isabelle, who want to marry, but can only do so once Eraste is sure that his uncle, Geronte, will bequeath his fortune to him. Meanwhile Geronte has plans of his own for his money — and for Isabelle.
| ONSTAGE |
| ‘Heir Apparent’ |
| » Where: Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. N.W. |
| » When: Through October 23 |
| » Info: $39 to $95; 205-547-1122; ShakespeareTheatre.org |
“This play seemed to have wonderful potential but originally it must have been fleshed out a great deal by the actors,” says Kahn. “Still, it had great possibilities, so I sent it to David, who did such a wonderful job for us with ‘The Liar.’
“He liked it, then he didn’t like it, then in a few weeks he said, ‘I love it. I’m having a wonderful time.’ When he sent it to us, it was the most hilarious play I had ever read. And everybody I sent it to said the same thing. David is just tremendously clever, and his adaptation is wonderful.
“He’s made all the situations funnier. There are a lot of disguises in the original, and he’s enriched those and invented new ones. As always with David, the language is completely clever, with end rhymes and internal rhymes. He just has an inexhaustible supply of verbal cleverness and intelligence.”
Although Ives’ language sounds contemporary, the structure of the play is still Regnard’s, and the production is being done in period costumes on a period set. Some of the actors are new to the company: Carson Elrod makes his Shakespeare Theatre Company debut as the crafty young manservant, Crispin.The young man who plays Eraste is recently out of Brigham Young University. Other actors, notably Nancy Robinette and Floyd King, are familiar to STC audiences.
“The Heir Apparent” was commissioned by the Beech Street Foundation as part of the ReDiscovery Series, a series of free readings and discussions that Kahn started when he first arrived at the STC.
Celebrating both his tenure as the head of STC for 25 years and the production of a world premiere, Kahn says modestly, “I just hope everyone enjoys this production as much as we do.”
