COM stages Feydeau's "Mistress"
Comedy of affairs has twisted plot
David Moll
Issue date: 5/16/05 Section: A&E
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Set in Paris circa, 1912, the play follows the tumultuous life of Dr. Molineaux (played by Chad Yarish). Recently wed to Yvonne Aigreville (Livia DiMarchi), Dr. Molineaux has yet to give up his tomcatting ways. When his wife uncovers his extra-maritial pursuits, Molineaux casts one little white lie.
Soon after, mother-in-law Madame Aigreville (Mary Ann Rogers) arrives at the Molineaux residence. It seems like the good doctor's fate is sealed. Without a secret get-away from which to continue his affair with Suzanne (Heather Gordon), Molineaux's life as a man-about-town will be over.
And, just then, a golden opportunity falls in the doctor's lap. Bassinet (David Alan Moss), a client of Dr. Molineaux, has recently acquired an apartment building. The building is thoroughly dilapidated and quite possibly contaminated, prompting Bassinet to suggest an alliance whereby Bassinet's renters become Dr. Molineaux's patients.
Molineaux dismisses the concept out-of-hand, yet Suzanne seizes the opportunity. She convinces Molineaux to rent out the former apartment of a rent-skipping haute couture dressmaker, assume a new identity (for appearances sake) and best-of-all, escape the watchful eye of Madame Aigreville.
Unwittingly, by agreeing to rent the apartment, Dr. Molineaux sets into motion an avalanche of deceptions and assumed identities from which there seems to be no escape. From the moment Molineaux and Suzanne set foot in the apartment, everyone from whom they were trying to escape barges back in. Former customers lead the invasion. Then in comes Bassinet, still oblivious to Molineaux's motives. Then at the worst possible moment, Suzanne's husband, Aubin (Robert Garcia) comes to visit.
And still, the lies keep snowballing...
Now you didn't expect me to lay everything out for you?
Originally written by Georges Feydeau and later adapted by Bernard Shaw, "A Gown for his Mistress" is a classic comedy of innocuous lies compounding into serious problems. With myriad plot twists and hundreds of half-truths, the play exposes the hypocrisy of the anger at discovering infidelity.