So what happens when you have male actors play female roles and female actors play male roles' The Crowded Kitchen Players show us in A Flea in Her Ear, David Ives adaptation of George Feydeaus farce now playing at McCooles Arts and Events Place in Quakertown.
Both sexes are committed to their respective roles. The men wear heels; the women wear facial hair. The men wear dresses; the women wear suits and ties.
At times its difficult to tell what gender the actors really are because of their convincing portrayals.
The story is filled with misunderstandings and jealous lovers. Victor Chandebise (Nancy Mikkelsen) is the head of the household and owner of an insurance business.
His wife Raymonde (Jay Fletcher) is upset because their love life isnt quite what it used to be and she suspects her husband of cheating on her.
Seeing Fletcher in a dress for the first time made the audience laugh, yet he slips into the role quite effortlessly.
When Raymonde intercepts Victors mail and finds a pair of suspenders”causing a flea in her ear”it furthers the idea that Victor is being unfaithful.
So Raymonde convinces her best friend Lucienne (Jonathan Smith) to help her write a love letter to trick Victor into meeting the unknown interested lover, thus proving that he is indeed having an affair.
Smith is actually a tall man, so its amusing simply to see him towering over his "male" counterparts. Yet for his size, he does a great job of bringing femininity to Lucienne.
However, Victor isnt all that convinced that a woman would be interested in him since he was seen in the company of handsome Tournel (Sarah Thomas); so, Victor has Tournel go to the rendezvous at the Frisky Puss Hotel in his place instead.
Of course, things dont go as planned.
Gun-wielding Don Carlos (Rebecca Carlyon Wahoff) recognizes his wife Luciennes handwriting as the secret lovers handwriting and vows to kill the man who is sleeping with his wife.
Victors nephew Camille (Patti Squire) may know whats going on, but a speech impediment in which he cannot speak constants keeps him from being understood most of the time by most of the other characters (and humorously, by most of the audience).
Squire speaks in just enough of a mumble to only understand certain words and even did the curtain speech, much to the audiences confused amusement.
Of course, we find out rather quickly that the lack of physical attention that Raymonde is receiving from her husband is probably not because of an affair he is having when Victor is examined by Dr. Finache (Bill Gibson).
At the Frisky Puss we meet the hotels harsh owner Ferraillon (Sharon Ferry), Olympia (Michael Crotty), the maid Eugenie (Pamela McLean Wallace), and a jumpy British fellow named Rugby (Kate Hughes).
The allure of the Frisky Puss Hotel is that its the perfect place for a meeting with your secret lover.
It offers such amenities as fresh linens and beds that will contain an old man named Baptise (Rachel Tizol) if desired. Baptise will magically show up in a bed if needed to thwart a suspecting spouse or two from catching on to an affair.
To my knowledge, Holiday Inn does not offer such service.
Antoinette (Michael Thew) and Etienne (Kate Hughes) are a married maid and valet in the Chandebise household who mistakenly get caught up in the mishaps as well. Thews portrayal is a mix of a can-can dancer and the wolf dressed as Granny in Little Red Riding Hood.
There are so many entrances and exits and characters nearly colliding that its sometimes difficult to tell whos coming from where.
And thats a good thing. Add in a mistaken identity, and the frenzy escalates even more.
A Flea in Her Ear runs weekends through October 13. For tickets or more information, visit ckplayers.com or call 610-395-7176.