Theatre MSU hits the stage Thursday with its rendition of Jean Giradoux’s satirical comedy “The Madwoman of Chaillot.”
The play finds its setting in 1946 Paris, a city recovering from World War II. A greed-driven prospector and his cohorts have set out to destroy Paris’ beauty by digging for oil, but the madwoman, Countess Aurelia, will not let this happen. She rallies a ragtag group of populist Parisians against the businessmen, and the comedy begins.
“This play was written in 1946, but has a lot of relevance today,” director Jo Durst said. “The themes of greed and big business still affect us today, and the concept of oil digging is prominent, as well.”
Putting on a show of this size is no easy task, scene designer Wayne Durst said.
“Anytime you do a multi-set play like this, each act is really an entire show,” he said. “You have to design each set and then get them working together. [“Madwoman”] has two acts, so it feels like we’re doing two shows.”
“Madwoman” also includes a large cast, 26 members, which makes the play come together more slowly than others, Jo Durst said.
“Rehearsals are very difficult,” she said. “We have a big cast out there each in about three pieces of costume, trying to get everyone situated. It’s a challenge.”
Junior theater major Lily Macias can attest to the difficulty of the play. She leads the cast as Countess Aurelia, her first lead role in a Theatre MSU production.
“I’ve had some complicated parts in the past, but this is by far the most demanding,” Macias said. “I’ve had several outside rehearsals with just me and a few other characters. The play is 64 pages long, and I’m in all but about 15.”
To top off the daunting task of line memorization, Macias was not able to fully focus on the play until about two weeks ago.
“We were at the Tennessee Williams festival in Boston and Provincetown, [Mass.],” she said. “I had to be ready for that, so I didn’t really get to work on “Madwoman” until we got back.”
This required Macias to spend almost every moment of every day since then learning her character, she said, but now she is ready for Thursday’s show, she said.
Junior communication major Lindsey Cacamo and senior communication major Dustin LeFors have also had to put extra work into their parts.
In this play, his sixth with Theatre MSU, LeFors plays a deaf-mute man, which requires him to be more physical than in previous roles he’s played.
“It’s a large part for it to be non-speaking,” he said. “Basically [the deaf-mute] observes everything and is kind of the head of the vagabonds. He understands everything that is going on, but obviously has trouble communicating.”
The solution to this problem is where Cacamo comes in. She plays the role of Irma, a Parisian waitress. The role is another highly physical one, requiring her to learn sign language to interpret LeFors’ deaf mute.
“I had some help from Sonic since they’re giving out sign language guides in kids’ meals,” Cacamo said with a laugh. “Really, though, most of it came from one of the cast member’s cousins.”
Wayne Durst said the play is both a comedy of ideas and characters and will appeal to people whether they are looking for just a good time or deeper meaning.
“Giradoux was an internationally recognized writer in his day,” he said. “He wrote some powerful stuff. [“Madwoman”] is about people who refuse to change, who refuse to abandon their ethics and morals just because the world is changing.”
This concept is directly injected into the costume work. The cast is made up of characters dwelling in several different pasts, and this is shown by the clothes they wear, costume designer Christine Taylor said.
“The play may be set in post -World War II Europe, but many of the characters look as if they’ve come from different periods,” Taylor said. “We have costumes from the 1880s to the 1940s. The madwoman is in 1880s costume the entire show.”
Many of the costume pieces were donated by renowned costume designer Myrna Colley-Lee, with several pieces designed by her, Taylor said
“[Colley-Lee’s] assistant called and asked us if we wanted to have the collection,” Taylor said. “Of course we gladly accepted. The amount of pieces that are available [in the collection] is great. We even have lingerie that’s from the 1920s.”
Over half of the costumes used in “Madwoman” come directly from Colley-Lee’s donation. Without these pieces, the play would most likely have been impossible, Wayne Durst said.
“It will be a treat for the eyes,” Taylor said. “The amount of detail that’s in the costumes is amazing.”
“The Madwoman of Chaillot” is playing in the McComas Hall Theatre Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. each day. General admission is $10, and it costs $5 for MSU students, faculty and staff as well as senior citizens. The play is appropriate for all ages.