By News and Internal Communications

By Santana Peralez 

EDINBURG, TEXAS – The UTRGV Theatre Department is following up its three nights of horror with three nights of commedia dell'arte, love, trickery, mistaken identities, mayhem, farce and fun.  

The theatre department will perform two one-act comedies, “The Flying Doctor” and “Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed,” written by French playwright Molière and translated to English by Albert Bermel.  

The show, directed by Dr. Eric Wiley, Department of Theatre professor, opens 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre on the Edinburg Campus. 

The Molière works will run Nov. 18-20 on the UTRGV Edinburg Campus on: 

• Friday, Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 20, 2 p.m.

“Molière is one of the most important playwrights in theater history, and one of the most influential, studied and admired,” Wiley said. “Yet, we have almost never done one of his plays here at UTRGV.”  

Wiley said there are several outrageous things in these plays, which have the diffuse poetic quality for which Molière was famous.  

“His characters are very bold and lively, and if we can pull that off, then I think the audience will really feel rejuvenated and excited by the production,” he said.

In “The Flying Doctor,” a nobleman wants to marry off his daughter, but she is in love with someone else. The daughter’s lover, Valère, entrusts close confidants to help solve the problem.

In “Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed,” two women go to Paris in search of love and jeux d'esprit. They are told which eligible bachelors they should marry, but the two women find them unrefined. The search for love continues. The women get bamboozled when they meet two different “promising” men, only to be revealed the men are imposters.

 

FOOL ME ONCE…

Rolando Garza, a junior theatre major who previously took part in productions of “Red” and “Coriolanus,” will be playing the roles of Du Croisy in “Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed” and Valére in “The Flying Doctor.”

Both plays are extremely funny, he said, and exactly what people need.

“This is the type of comedy that makes you forget,” Garza said. “It makes you smile and leaves you feeling warm. You can just laugh and forget about everything for a moment.”  

Jaclyn Flores-Barreiro, a senior theatre major who portrays Cathos in “Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed,” said everything in the production is overexaggerated and high energy.

“I love it,” she said. “I’m also so hyped for the audience to see the costumes. We've worked hard on everything – the set, the costumes and our performances. I think it’s is going to knock people's socks off.” 

Dahlia Emmanuel, a senior theatre major, is stage managed for this production. She said she is not just excited about the show, but also grateful for the opportunity.

“This is what I am going to grad school for, and hopefully it will be my career for the rest of my life,” Emmanuel said.

“I am so excited for everyone to see this show. It’s really fun and active and we’re going to feature dancing and live music,” she said. “It's going to be very interesting to see everything put together.” 

For more information on how to get tickets, and for more about future shows, contact the Theatre Box Office by phone 956-665-3581 or email at theatreboxoffice@utrgv.edu.