You, gentle theatergoer, play an integral role in the success of a farce. First, you must accept the slim premise based on mistaken identities and little white lies. You need to accept that a bourgeois house could have a room with only one window but five doors that never fall off their hinges even though they are constantly being slammed. You need to laugh freely and generously at the silliness and cartoon pratfalls. You may find that easy to do, but I don't. Nevertheless, The Ladies Man at Shakespeare & Company seduced me with its hysterical, if hollow, charms. One of the problems with farce is that it's usually imported from France or England, and humor doesn't always travel or translate well. The Ladies Man was "freely adapted" by Charles Morey from Georges Feydeau's 1889 Tailleur pour Dames, and Morey has kept the French flavor by setting it in Belle Epoque France (with an Art Nouveau set by Carl Sprague that is très magnifique.) Don't assume Morey's dumbed down the play, because a farce is by definition low comedy. However, The Ladies Man is the genre's highest form—I kept thinking that I was watching a staged version of a long-lost Marx Brothers screenplay. Certainly, the formidable actresses Elizabeth Aspenlieder and Annette Miller could have kept pace with Groucho, Chico and Harpo. When these two women make an entrance, it's hard to take your eyes off of them, and they know how to get a laugh out of a raised eyebrow—as well as a slammed door. A farce depends on split-second execution, and Michael F. Toomey as Monsieur Bassinet who simultaneously lisps and spits has impeccable comic timing, and he makes his character poignant as well as funny so that he comes across as more than a cartoon figure. Not every role in this play is as meaty, but director Kevin G. Coleman makes the most of every moment with non-stop action. The penultimate scene is a madcap do-si-do of door slamming and hysterical hijinks, which is zanily choreographed, making art of the absurd. This is not one of those plays that changes your life, or stays with you for very long, which makes it so perfect for this uneasy moment in history when nothing feels better than laughing out loud. The Ladies Man is the theatrical equivalent of a banana split—over-the-top, unnecessary, and delightful. The Ladies Man (through August 31) Shakespeare & Company70 Kemble Street, Lenox MA; 413-637-3353
