Positively enthralling. Marvelously comical. Devastatingly romantic. These are phrases one might use to describe the 18th century play She Stoops to Conquer, which will be performed on the PMAC main stage February 14-16 at 7:30pm. First performed in London in 1773, She Stoops to Conquer is one of those rare plays that manage to retain its universal appeal all the way into the 21st century. Its playwright, Oliver Goldsmith, is a famous Irish writer, poet, and physician, also known for his book The Vicar of Wakefield, his poem “The Deserted Village,” and his play The Good-Natur’d Man.
She Stoops to Conquer tells the story of “people who do foolish things in order to achieve the love they want in their lives,” said director Tracy Ginder-Delventhal. Set in the late 1700s, which was roughly when it was written and first performed, it is “a play about three upper-class couples and their servants.” Initially titled Mistakes of the Night, this play not only encompasses the theme of people blinded by love, but also that of mistaken identity. Tracy describes the play as a type of “farce. Very, very silly and romantic.”
The auditions, which were held in November, were “across-the-board excellent,” according to Tracy. “Everybody prepared either a scene or monologue from the play, and they also put together a one-minute lazzi—a lazzi is, in essence, a ‘comedic bit.’ My intention in doing that was to see how physically imaginative people were, how able they were to be really silly and outrageous and comedic,” she explained. Miles Cozart ’09 added, “There were around 60 or so people who auditioned, so the auditions were un-nerving—more than they usually are because there was a mass quantity of both men and women who auditioned.” The result of these selective auditions was “a very eclectic cast, mostly upper-classmen.” The main cast consists of Benjamin Pascale ’08, Emily MacLeod ’08, Michael Noel ’09, Learah Lockhart ’08, Amy Gobel ’08, Jin Ha ’08, Miles Cozart ’09, Eloise True ’08, Jennifer Xiao ’09, Gilbert Tetteh ’08, and Melody Travers ’08. Rehearsals have been going on since the beginning of winter term.
Rehearsals, according to an anonymous actress, “are awesome.” She elaborated, “Everyone is friendly and immensely talented. We laugh every day.” Cozart explained, “Rehearsals have been going well and the pace of the play is fast. However, it is a complicated play to cover in the time we have.” With such a diverse and talented cast, it seems fitting that the rehearsals would be a challenging and entertaining experience.
The play opens on Valentine’s Day, an appropriate date considering its romantic theme. One of the actresses declared that the play contained “lots of subtlety and innuendo.” Furthermore, tickets to She Stoops to Conquer will be free to the student body thanks to the generous donation of the Katz family. Tracy concluded, “I encourage everyone to come, [because] it’s going to be real fun.”
Amy Gobel ’08 and Miles Cozart ’09 rehearse in the black box theater. PHOTO/Marco Walton ’10
