‘He Hunts’
Classic French farce by Georges Feydeau
Presented at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood Village, California
Photo by Ken Hively – LA Times
Focus On… Stephen Nichols
Soap Opera Weekly- May 7th, 2002 Issue
Stephen Nichols leaves his dark characters behind in order to play a hopeless romantic in the comedic play “He Hunts”, by Georges Feydeau, adapted by Philip Littell.
Nichols stars as Moricet, a poet obsessed with his best friend’s wife. “I’m trying to convince her to have an affair with me and I justify it because her husband is cheating on her, after all,” Nichols explains.
“This is French farce: fast paced and wacky, mistaken identities, bouncing off the walls comedy,” Nichols laughs.
“The style of the production is colorful and highly theatrical.” The opportunity to return to theater was welcome. “I was telling my wife that I wanted to do another play, and I wanted to find a comedy. It came along at the right time.”
“Doing theater really keeps my spirit alive,” Nichols adds. “I have been eating, drinking and sleeping this play. I’m exercising every muscle, acting and otherwise, and my body aches all over from the physical demands of the piece.”
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‘He Hunts’
Translated by: Philip Littel
Directed by: David Schweizer
April 17 – May 19, 2002
Previews April 9 – 16
“Best friends, wives and lovers collide in this sparkling new translation of master French playwright Georges Feydeau’s wicked farce Monsieur Chasse. Mistaken identities and sexual intrigue underscore the dangerous humor of this classic comic romp about illicit lovers who accidentally rendezvous at the same apartment. Whoever thought hiding in a closet could be so much fun?”
Cast:
Stephen Nichols (Gustav Moricet)
Maxwell Caulfield (Duchotel)
Valarie Pettiford (Leontine)
Carol Kane (Madame Latour)
Daniel Kucan (Gontreins- the nephew)
Alan Mandell (Bridois)
Cathy Lind Hayes (Babet)
V.J .Foster (Cassecul)
Photo by Ken Hively – LA Times
Below is a personal review of ‘He Hunts’, as submitted by nicholsevansfan…
The Setting: The play is set in Paris, 1894. (Translated to English from the Original French)
The Characters: Leontyne is married to Duchotel, who has a nephew, Gontreins. The Duchotels have a servant, Babet, and an old friend who lives in the country (with marriage problems of his own), Cassecul. Moricet is a friend of Duchotel’s, who wants to bed his friend’s wife. Madame Latour, a former countess, is in the mix as the facilitator for some extra-marital trysts.
The Theatre: The exterior of the Geffen Playhouse is beautiful- European/Spanish style with a fountain in the courtyard. The exterior walls (as well as the walls inside the theatre itself) are made of light colored bricks. On the outside of the theatre, the brick walls are covered in ivy. Inside, there is a medium sized, modern style lobby with a concierge and coffee/snack bar. On the walls in one area of the lobby, the playhouse proudly displays photographs from previous productions. There are approximately 500 seats inside the theatre. The seats are curved around the stage a little bit, sort of in a shallow arc formation.
Before The Play: My mom came to see the play with me. Our seats were in the second row, at the outer end of the row. We would have had an angled view, but the only two people who did not show up for the play that evening were the people next to us. (The place was packed! It’s been selling out.) So anyway, we got to scooch over and ended up with great seats.
Before the curtains rose, we were talking about the different actors in the play, watching the theatre fill up quickly, and looking over the program (etc). As we waited for the play to begin, we couldn’t help but overhear two ladies behind us. They were probably in their mid-thirties or so and talked about having season tickets to this theatre. Then one of the ladies sheepishly said to her friend, “You won’t believe this when I tell you. One of the actors in the play, his name is Stephen Nichols…he played Patch on Days in the 80’s. I had the hugest crush on him when I was in college- I ACTUALLY scheduled classes around the show! And I have met several Days stars since then, but he was always my favorite….” Her friend was the typically shocked non-soap viewer who said, “Wow that’s a side of you I have never seen before…” I was cracking up. I didn’t say anything, but if only the Stephen fan knew how not-alone she was.
Before the play started, an announcer purposely faking a bad French accent (because the original play is French and set in France)….gave the usual directions – turn off cell phones, no eating or drinking, please open candy or anything in a wrapper BEFORE the play started ….etc etc. LOL. It was cute 🙂
My Summary/Review: I had never seen a farce before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Basically- this was pure comedy (which is a good thing), a hysterical romp. The plot centers around characters who find themselves caught up in a web of predicament. It’s in the tradition of the old, burlesque comedies. The play has a lot of great energy, strengthened & nurtured by a cast of top-notch performers.
A basic “breakdown” of Stephen’s role/costume: Stephen wears a Van-Dyke mustache and beard, and a lot of velvet : ) His hair has grown. He plays Moricet, who is trying to woo Leontyne, who is married to his friend Duchotel. Leontyne fends off Moricet’s advances, refusing to be unfaithful. She basically lets it be known that the only way she will cheat on her husband is if he cheats on her first. Moricet is frenzied, frustrated, and desperate as he constantly tries to get her to change her mind. He is the main source of comedy- the jester so to speak. As Moricet, Stephen gets to do some physical comedy and is in a majority of the scenes.
My personal favorite scene is when Moricet strips down to his 1890’s underwear (purposely NOT made to be sexy, LOL). I was just laughing so hard! Another favorite part: Stephen got to sing (briefly). He sang a part of the French National Anthem, and really had a great voice. (He claims that is his fake opera voice, but it was really good- well projected!)
The sets were very elaborate and elegantly decorated, and the costumes were beautiful as well. I especially loved Carol Kane’s costume in the play. She did a wonderful job as “The Countess” (Madame Latour). The countess is a French woman who likes the drink, and essentially makes it easier for men and women to have trysts at her apartment in the country (she rents out rooms there).
My Reactions: I will admit that it took me about 10-15 minutes time to warm up to the play, just because it was so different from anything I had seen. Also, the first 10-15 minutes was setting up the plot so the majority of the laughs come later. I remember I had that same reaction to Moulin Rouge….it was so different that it took me a while to warm up to it, but once I did, I simply adored it. Like that movie, this play really grew on me. Midway through the first act, it had me captivated.
Stephen was wonderful from the get-go, but the role is SUCH a complete departure from anything I had seen him play before. I think that is what sets Stephen apart for me – the variety of roles he is willing to take on, and play so well.
Coming on the heels of Father Sheridan and Stefan Cassadine – two such serious, dramatic roles- nothing could have been more different than Moricet! One thing remains true: as always, Stephen put all of his energy into making the character come alive. He did not disappoint and in my opinion, got the majority of the laughs 🙂
Footnote- Interesting facts about the play: Megan Mullaly (Will and Grace) and Joely Fisher (Baby Bob) were scheduled to be part of the cast, but both had to back out due to scheduling conflicts. Valarie Pettiford had only one week to rehearse when she was signed on as Leontine; Stephen was cast only two weeks before the previews.
Review From: The Beverly Hills Courier – April 26, 2002
HE HUNTS
The Geffen Playhouse has a gem.
Georges Feydeau’s MONSIEUR CHASSE has a new name: HE HUNTS, translated and adapted by Philip Littell.
HE HUNTS is a farce about unfaithful husbands and wives, mistaken identities, sexual intrigue and scheming best friends. It’s silly and amusing.
Everything starts with a suspicious hunting trip. Dochotel (Maxwell Caulfield) is off on one of his customary hunting expeditions when his best friend Moricet (Stephen Nichols) hints to Dochotel’s wife (Valarie Pettiford), whom he is madly in love with, that the hunting trip is not what it seems and the game he brings home after the hunt is from a butcher shop. And so the fun begins.
The cast is delightful. Caulfield and Nichols are extremely likable. Especially charming and splendid is Carol Kane as Madame Latour. Her timing is impeccable, her performance terrific.
Put HE HUNTS on your “To See” list. It’s delicious fun and totally charming, playing in a totally charming theatre.
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