On the Razzle (play)

Last updated

On the Razzle
OnTheRazzle.jpg
Poster for the original Royal National Theatre production
Written by Tom Stoppard
CharactersHerr Zangler, owner of a rural upscale grocery store
Mme. Knorr, proprietor of a women's clothing store in Vienna
Weinberl, Zangler's chief clerk
Christopher, Zangler's apprentice
Frau Fischer, Mme. Knorr's customer
Marie, Zangler's niece
Sonders, Marie's ne'er-do-well suitor
Melchior, Zangler's personal assistant
Date premiered18 September 1981
Place premiered Royal National Theatre
London
Original languageEnglish
SubjectMistaken identities lead to comedic chaos and romantic entanglements
GenreFarce
SettingVienna

On the Razzle is a play by Tom Stoppard which premiered at the Royal National Theatre, London in 1981. It is an adaptation of the 1842 Viennese play Einen Jux will er sich machen by Johann Nestroy, which had been adapted twice by Thornton Wilder. The first Wilder version, 1938, entitled The Merchant of Yonkers , was faithful to the original material, but the second Wilder version, 1955, renamed The Matchmaker , expanded the previously secondary role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, who later became the heroine of the Jerry Herman musical hit, Hello, Dolly! . Stoppard's adaptation eliminates the Dolly character.

Contents

The play's title is a euphemism, often used by the British press, to describe the actions of a celebrity who has drunk, or is about to drink, a considerable amount of alcohol.

Plot

Stoppard's farce consists of two hours of slapstick shenanigans, mistaken identities, misdirected orders, malapropisms, double entendres, and romantic complications.

Herr Zangler, the twisted-tongued proprietor of an upscale grocery store in a small Austrian village, plans to marry Mme. Knorr, the proprietor of a women's clothing shop in Vienna. In preparation for his new life in the big city, he orders a new wardrobe and hires the fast-talking Melchior as a personal assistant. He arranges to send his niece Marie to his sister-in-law in Vienna, Miss Blumenblatt, to protect her from the penniless Sonders who is courting her. As he departs for Vienna, Zangler entrusts the operation of his business to his garrulous head clerk, Weinberl, and his naive apprentice, Christopher, but they decide to go "on the razzle" to Vienna.

Almost immediately, Weinberl and Christopher catch sight of Zangler and disguise themselves as mannequins in the window of Mme. Knorr's House of Fashion. Circumstances propel the two into a fancy restaurant in the company of Mme. Knorr and her customer, Frau Fischer who has been roped into pretending she is Weinberl's new wife, the same restaurant to which Zangler intends to take Mme. Knorr. Several sprinting waiters, a sexually obsessed coachman, and a carefully positioned Chinese screen come into play, and things finally seem to be settling down when the eloping Sonders and Marie enter the scene, and the chaos starts anew. The various characters flee to Miss Blumenblatt's, who mistakes Weinberl and the disguised Christopher as Sonders and Marie. Eventually, all is sorted out, Christopher and Weinberl make it back to the store in time to prevent Zangler from ever knowing they were gone. Everything solves itself: Sonders comes into an inheritance and is allowed to marry Marie, Weinberl and Frau Fischer discover they have been romantic pen pals all along, Christopher is promoted, Zangler and Mme. Knorr finalize their engagement, and life returns to normal after one night "on the razzle."

Production history

On the Razzle opened on September 18, 1981 at the Royal National Theatre in London, with Felicity Kendal switching genders to star as Christopher. [1]

Other cast members included Dinsdale Landen as Herr Zangler, Michael Kitchen as Melchior, Ciaran Madden as Mme. Knorr, Meg Wynne Owen as Frau Fischer, and Alfred Lynch as Weinberl. Peter Wood won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director.

The production later was filmed by Terence Donovan in association with Channel 4. The film was released in 1983 and once again starred Kendal as Christopher. [2] It eventually aired on PBS' Great Performances in the United States in January 1986. [3]

The American premiere featured Yeardley Smith and was directed by Douglas C. Wager. It opened at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in September 1982. An off-Broadway production was mounted at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village in 1999.

Scottish composer Robin Orr created an opera based on the play in 1988. [4]

On the Razzle was performed as part of the Shaw Festival's 2023 summer lineup. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Stoppard</span> British playwright (born 1937)

Sir Tom Stoppard is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and political freedom, often delving into the deeper philosophical thematics of society. Stoppard has been a playwright of the National Theatre and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. Stoppard was knighted for his contribution to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997.

<i>Shakespeare in Love</i> 1998 film by John Madden

Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 period romantic comedy film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and Judi Dench.

<i>The Matchmaker</i> Play written by Thornton Wilder

The Matchmaker is a 1954 Broadway play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play The Merchant of Yonkers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felicity Kendal</span> English actress

Felicity Ann Kendal is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, but the role that brought attention to her career was that of Barbara Good in the 1975 television series The Good Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaramouche</span> Stock clown character of the commedia dellarte

Scaramouche or Scaramouch is a stock clown character of the 16th-century commedia dell'arte. The role combined characteristics of the Zanni (servant) and Il Capitano, with some assortment of villainous traits. Usually attired in black Spanish dress and burlesquing a don, he was often beaten by Harlequin for his boasting and cowardice.

The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the Evening Standard newspaper. They are the West End's equivalent to Broadway's Drama Desk Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Nestroy</span> Austrian playwright, actor and singer

Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions and his work reflects the new liberal spirit then spreading throughout Europe.

Einen Jux will er sich machen (1842), is a three-act musical play, designated as a Posse mit Gesang, by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy. It was adapted from John Oxenford's A Day Well Spent (1835), and first performed at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 10 March 1842. The music was by Adolf Müller.

<i>The Real Thing</i> (play) 1982 play by British playwright Tom Stoppard

The Real Thing is a play by Tom Stoppard that was first performed in 1982. The play focuses on the relationship between Henry and Annie, an actress and member of a group fighting to free Brodie, a Scottish soldier imprisoned for burning a memorial wreath during a protest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Kitchen</span> English actor

Michael Roy Kitchen is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama Foyle's War, which comprised eight series between 2002 and 2015. He also played the role of Bill Tanner in two James Bond films opposite Pierce Brosnan, and that of John Farrow in BBC Four's comedy series Brian Pern.

<i>The Merry Wives of Windsor</i> (opera) Opera by Otto Nicolai

The Merry Wives of Windsor is an opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare.

"On the razzle" is a euphemism describing the actions of someone who has drunk, or is about to drink, a considerable amount of alcohol. It is often used by the British press to refer to the actions of a celebrity. A night "on the razzle" does not carry completely negative connotations; it is often only used to describe someone as having enjoyed themselves.

Treats is a 1975 romantic drama play by Christopher Hampton about a love triangle.

<i>Indian Ink</i> 1995 theatre play of Tom Stoppard

Indian Ink is a 1995 play by Tom Stoppard based on his 1991 radio play In the Native State.

<i>Spring Awakening</i> (musical) Rock musical

Spring Awakening is a coming-of-age rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. It is based on the 1891 German play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Set in late 19th-century Germany, the musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of adolescent sexuality. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf Klein-Rogge</span> German actor

Friedrich Rudolf Klein, better known as Rudolf Klein-Rogge, was a German film actor, best known for playing sinister figures in films in the 1920s and 1930s as well as being a mainstay in director Fritz Lang's Weimar-era films. He is probably best known in popular culture, particularly to English-speaking audiences, for playing the archetypal mad scientist role of C. A. Rotwang in Lang's Metropolis and as the criminal genius Doctor Mabuse. Klein-Rogge also appeared in several important French films in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

<i>Madame Favart</i>

Madame Favart is an opéra comique, or operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot.

David Hugh Jones was an English stage, television and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theo Lingen</span> German actor

Theo Lingen, born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960.

<i>To Be Without Worries</i> 1953 film

To Be Without Worries is a 1953 Austrian-German historical comedy film directed by Georg Marischka and starring Walter Müller, Hans Moser and Walter Koch. It was shot at the Schönbrunn Studios in Vienna. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Fritz Jüptner-Jonstorff and Alexander Sawczynski.

References

  1. On the Razzle by Tom Stoppard, published in 1981 by Faber and Faber, Ltd. ISBN   0-571-11835-6
  2. On the Razzle at IMDb
  3. New York Times review
  4. On the Razzle, Wise Music
  5. "2023 Season". Shaw Festival Theatre. Retrieved 12 April 2023.