Posted by Mary Wimberley on 1999-10-28

Continuing the theme "Private Acts-Public Eyes," Samford University Theatre will present A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau Nov. 11-16. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11-13 and 15, 2 p.m. on Nov. 14, and 4 p.m. on Nov. 16 in Harrison Theatre.

Adapted by Samford faculty members Don and Lynette Sandley, this new and funny version of Feydeau's classic farce sets A Flea in Her Ear in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

In keeping with the theme of the season, Flea shows how private lives become extremely public when a complex series of mistaken identities, clandestine assignations and misplaced and volatile jealousies all happen at breakneck speed. Eventually, the craziness is untangled, but not before the action has expanded to include a suspicious husband, a nephew with an unfortunate but hilarious speech defect, a Texas politician and a hotel full of colorful guests.

Directed by Don Sandley, with costumes by Barbara Sloan, scenery by Eric Olson and lighting by Lee Jones, the play incorporates a large, talented cast.

Actors include Tevy Bradley, Michelle Mount, Scott Conley, Taylor Grayson, Jason Adams, Mark Allen, Melissa Butler, Kevin Jordan, Valerie Riggins, Chayna Norris, Jeremy Dabbs, Andy Davis, Andrew Clark and Beth Denison. Understudies Tricia Davis, Spring Sarvis, Rebecca Burroughs and Kim Rogers will perform on Monday night.

According to adapter and director Don Sandley, the play "offers a great chance for people who take themselves and the problems of this world too seriously to push it all back to arm's length, for just one night, and forget. . .and laugh."

He remarks that, like Saturday Night Live sketches, "there is no one, not any one part of the population that we are not poking fun at. In fact, we abuse the whole of Southern society."

Scenery is based on the ironwork of New Orleans, and the costumes pull together the colors of Mardi Gras. Besides re-setting the production in Louisiana, the Sandleys have placed the play in 1960, complete with flips, spike heels, and narrow ties. Kelly Miller assists in directing the play.

Samford Theatre has incorporated several new features this season. Evening curtain time has been moved from 8 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Friday evenings, as a babysitting service to parents, the department offers a children's drama workshop. To register children, call 726-2951.

Play tickets are $7 for adults, and $6 for students and senior citizens. For reservations, call 726-2853.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.