Divamensch

Richard and I saw this show with our friends David and John on 2/11.  This was our fourth show at the Mint Theater - - this is where we saw *Philip Goes Forth*, *London Wall*, and *The Fatal Weakness*.  It’s a cute little theater, only 100 seats, and their production are always first-rate - - the performances are strong, and they don’t skimp on the sets and costumes.  It’s always a pleasurable night at the theatre.

 

This is a play from 1917 by Ferenc Moldár, the Hungarian playwright best known for *Liliom*, the play that *Carousel* is based on.  This is also the play that Eve Harrington mentions having done with a Wisconsin amateur theatre group.  She says, “We played *Liliom* for three performances.  I was awful.”  This is one of the only TRUE things Eve says in that monologue.  Anyway, *Fashions For Men* is a sweet little comedy set in a haberdashery in Budapest.  It’s surprising how timely it is, almost 100 years later.  Most of the cast is young (meaning under 35), and they were all competent and presented the play well.  Is it any surprise that the two best performances were by actors over 50?  Kurt Rhoads played the Count and Jeremy Lawrence played a salesman in the store - - both gave performances full of zest and savvy, qualities the younger actors lacked.