Scapino is a 1974 play adapted by

Jim Dale Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In Britis ...

and Frank Dunlop from ''

Les Fourberies de Scapin ''Scapin the Schemer'' (french: Les Fourberies de Scapin) is a three-act comedy of intrigue by the French playwright Molière. The title character Scapin is similar to the archetypical Scapino character. The play was first staged on 24 May 1671 in ...

'' by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

opened at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. A production by the Young Vic, it starred Jim Dale,

Denise Coffey Denise Dorothy Coffey (12 December 1936 – 24 March 2022) was an English actress, director and playwright. Early life Coffey was born in Aldershot in 1936, the only child of Dorothy (''née'' Malcolm), and her husband, Denis Coffey, an Irishm ...

and

Ian Trigger Ian Trigger (30 September 1938 – 6 January 2010) was a British actor of stage, film and television who had a successful career in the United States. A diminutive actor, Trigger's long career saw him working in the West End, on Broadway and ...

and was directed by Frank Dunlop.The Theater: ‘Scapino’
- ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' 15 March 1974 The production later moved to the Ambassador Theatre in New York. In this adaptation Molière's French play is transposed to modern

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in a British

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

-style. Here the deceitful valet

Scapino Scapino, or Scapin, is a zanni character from the commedia dell'arte. His name is related to the Italian word "scappare" (to escape) and his name translates to “little escape artist” in reference to his tendency to flee from fights, even those ...

contrives to bring his master's children of two sons and two daughters and their various loves together through all kinds of trickery - despite his master's own plans for them. ''Scapino''
(1974) - '' Playbill'' (1974) The music was by

. In 1974 Frank Dunlop was nominated for the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director This is a list of winners of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director introduced in 1955 to honour directors of plays and directors of musicals. From 1968, multiple awards were presented for each season. In 1975 the category was retired and d ...

; Dale won the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award in 1974, while in 1975 Dale was nominated for Best Actor and Dunlop for Best Director at the

29th Tony Awards The 29th Annual Tony Awards ceremony was held on April 20, 1975, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City, and broadcast by ABC television. Hosts/Performers/Presenters were Larry Blyden, George S. Irving, Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence, Michele ...

Cast

(The first names appeared in the original production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. The second set are the cast after the show moved to the Ambassador Theatre in New York. *

(servant of Geronte) -

*Headwaiter - Barry Michlin *Waiters -Hugh Hastings and Alan Coates/George Connolly and Norman Abrams *Waitress - Jenny Austen/Holly Villaire *Argante -

*Giacinta -

Mel Martin Mel Martin (born March 1947) is an English actress. Early life Her father was the artist Frank Vernon Martin, who died in 2005. Career Her breakthrough role was as the star of LWT's ''Love For Lydia'' (1977), adapted from the novel by H E B ...

/Connie Fursland *Carlo -

Andrew Robertson Andrew Henry Robertson (born 11 March 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Liverpool and captains the Scotland national team. Robertson began his senior career with Queen's Park in 2012 before joini ...

/John Horn *Ottavio (son of Argant) -

Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. ...

/Christopher Hastings *Sylvestro (servant of Argante, friend of Scapino) - Gavin Reed *Geronte -

Paul Brooke Paul Brooke (born 22 November 1944) is a retired English actor of film, television and radio. He made his film debut in 1972 in the Hammer film '' Straight on till Morning'', followed by performances in '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981), ''Return o ...

/J. Frank Lucas *Leandro (son of Geronte) - Phil Killian *Zerbinetta (a gypsy, beloved of Leandro) -

Hattie Winston Hattie Mae Winston (born March 3, 1945) is an American film, television and Broadway actress and voice artist. She is known for her roles as Margaret Wyborn on ''Becker'', Lucy Carmichael in ''Rugrats'', ''The Rugrats Movie'', and the spin off se ...

*Nurse - Lotti Taylor/Bertha SklarProduction of ''Scapino''
(1974) - Brooklyn Academy of Music Archive

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scapino (play 1974 plays Broadway plays Off-Broadway plays Plays based on works by Molière