Jean Giradoux who?
That may not exactly be the reaction of audiences to West Springfield High School's fall production, but it might be something close.
After all, the players themselves needed an introduction to Jean and his style of French farce.
"I really didn't know what to think. I hadn't heard of him," said Casey Myers, who plays Gabrielle, one of the play's "mad women." "I said 'Well, something French, something crazy. It's got possibilities.'"
Audiences will get the chance to discover Jean Giradoux, just as the cast has, when West Springfield High School puts on the French playwright's 1930's-era comedy "The Madwoman of Chaillot."
The play, written just prior to the Nazi invasion of France, tells the story of a group of "mad women" who fight to protect the streets of France safe from businessmen who will stop at nothing to strike oil, which they believe is under those streets.
"I wanted my kids to work on one of these shows because I think there's so much meat to it. I get bored working on shows I think have no substance," said Mary Jo Levesque, West Springfield's theater director and the play's director.
Levesque said she chose the play because it challenged both the actors and the audience to go deeper.
"He's more of a college-level playwright," said Levesque. "Most of them stray away from him, because his works are a bit intellectual."
WHAT MAKES Giradoux a challenge, according to student director Peter Adams, is that although the play seems like a comedy, there's a deeper message going on under the surface.
"When I read it the first time, I was very confused. I thought I should give it another try," he said. "The second time, more of the subtext came through, and it made a lot of sense.
That's not an option, since most audiences will only have one shot at getting the play's message.
"The first time they see it, their only time, I want them to see it and understand it. That's the challenge of putting this together."
According to Levesque, what audiences will see is a "comedic fable," with elements of farce, as the "mad woman" tries to prevent the evil developers from tearing up the streets of Paris.
"IT'S A DUAL-EDGED audience reaction, that's what I expect. Some people may think this is a bittersweet story, some people may see the comedic techniques and laugh," she said.
"My goal is not to have everybody rolling in the aisles with laughter. What I want is to make the audience think."
Once they've conquered "Madwoman," Levesque said her students will have a leg up as they apply to colleges, and they're starting to appreciate the French style of playwriting.
"It's really changed my opinion (about French theater)," said Myers. "It's so different from American plays. It's definitely very complex, but there's some light stuff on top of it."