'I See No Arlecchino' at Players' Ring Theatre

PORTSMOUTH – To lighten up the winter doldrums, The Players’ Ring Theatre is showing “I See No Arlecchino,” Jan. 26 through Feb. 11, directed by Kelli Leigh-Ann Connors.

Written by David Kaye and Evan Russel, this hysterical piece features all the traditional beloved masks of commedia dell'arte: Arlecchino, Colombina, Brighella, Pantalone – just to mention a few. Intrigue, innuendo, mistaken identities and incredible misunderstandings are the key ingredients of this fast-paced romp that will make your jaw hurt with laughter.

Jessica Miller, a cast member who was on the original development team with Kaye, while a freshman at the University of NH, described commedia as a “highly physical slap-stick comedy with a cast of stock characters he lovers, the old miser, etc.”

“I like to think of it as a live-action cartoon with a very thin, if at all existent, fourth wall,” Miller said. “It's pure, raucous comedy.”

Also in the cast are Shaughnessey Gower, Courtney St. Gelais and Griffinn Gower.

Griffinn Gower created the lighting design and set construction; Shari Lockhart is the scenic painter; Valerie Smith did costume design; and Talyssa Goulet is stage manager.