-Playwright-
Robert Merrill
Poster design by Bruce Hutchins for the Chino Community Theatre premiere
The Ingenue (Jessie McLean) listens as The Wife (Jamie Pezold) gets a husband-keeping lessson from The Cook (Patricia McQuillan) in Chino Community Theatre's premiere production.
Five-Door Farce
To tell you part of the plot of Five-Door Farce would mislead you. To tell you more than that would reveal too much. When pressed about the play, I've said the following: It's a tragedy inside a parody of a farce. It's the collision of Noises Off and Six Characters in Search of Author. It's a farce, seriously. Exploring the themes of creation and Creation, gender roles, identity, religion, theater, determinism, and existentialism, it plays with the conventions of farce in a way that fans of farce will love and enemies of farce will appreciate. Oh, and it’s funny. It has two acts with three scenes each, though the scenes can be played continuously. It runs 2 hours and has a single set. The cast has 5M and 5W, and the roles of The Doctor and The Nurse may be male or female. The roles of The Doctor and The Nurse can be doubled with any of the other characters except for The Butler, The Husband, and The Ingénue.
Cast of Characters
(In order of appearance, not to say attractiveness.)
The Wife/1950s
If Harriet Nelson and Barbara Billingsly had a baby….
The Visitor/1930s
A young British man getting his start in life
The Butler/1930s
The very model of that British sort of man
The Lady/1930s
A well-upholstered British woman of a certain age and class
The Cook/1930s
An incurious British woman with simple tastes
Partner One/2010
A man of some age and income, the type found in American urban-chic areas
Partner Two/2010
A man of a lesser age and income, the type found in American urban-chic areas
The Husband/1950s
If Ozzie Nelson and Hugh Beaumont had a baby….
The Ingénue/1890s
A Belle Époque innocent
The Mother/2010
A singular indictment of the American educational industry
The Doctor/2013
A textbook case
The Nurse/2013
A case of arrested literacy
Production History
2017: Orinda Starlight Village Players (full production)/Jill Gelster, Director
2015: Chino Community Theatre (full production, season opener)/Cindi East, Director
Reviews
Laughter, confusion mark Starlight’s final show
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Five-Door Farce final play of the season for Starlight Players
Lamorinda Weekly
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Complex farce may puzzle but is certain to entertain
Chino Champion, January 17, 2015
As the others read about themselves, The Husband (Jeffry Wymer) ponders his situation.
Video
Click on the headline above to watch a clip from Act One of Five-Door Farce from the Chino Community Theatres' 2015 premiere.