BRATTLEBORO — Flowers are mistakenly sold as fish. The purpose of man's existence is the number 12. A day is twenty-five hours long.
And this is only the beginning of the foolishness of the cursed Russian village of Kulyenchikov as brought to life Friday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 13, on the Brattleboro Union High School stage for the BUHS Players production of Neil Simon's farce Fools.
First performed on Broadway in 1981 under the direction of Mike Nichols, Fools tells of a remote Russian village in the 1890s affected by a curse of stupidity. Leon Tolchinsky (Ian Epstein), an enthusiastic young teacher, has journeyed to the town of Kulyenchikov, Ukraine, to tutor Sophia (Casey Hagedorn), the daughter of local physician Dr. Zubritsky.
Upon arrival he encounters a variety of enduring and zany characters of the town, including Snetsky the “sheep loser” (Julia Waldron), Slovitch the butcher (Hannah Paige), Mishkin the mail carrier (Claire Thomas), Yenchna the fish seller (Abby Sherlock), and the town magistrate (Alexandra Brodeur).
When he finally arrives at the house of Dr. Zubritsky (Bailey Whelchel) and his wife Lenya (Amanda Rink), he is told of the 200-year-old curse that causes the citizens of the village to be stupid, unable to love or leave the village, until a Yousekevitch marries a Zubritsky or someone in the town becomes educated.
He realizes that there is probably nothing he can do for the citizens of Kulyenchikov, but then he meets the beautiful and innocent Sophia, the Doctor's daughter, who has just recently learned how to sit down and stand up by herself.
Leon falls in love and decides that he will do anything to lift the curse and marry Sophia. The only problem is that none other than the evil and terrifying Count Gregor Mikhailovitch Breznofsky Fyodor Yousekevitch himself (Matt Carroll) is in love with Sophia and insists on proposing to her twice a day.
How will Leon attempt to break the Kulyenchikov curse and win the heart of Sophia Zubritsky?
Fools is under the direction of Robert Kramsky and is being stage-managed by Corinne Epstein. Technical assistance is provided by Alex Montgomery. Performances begin at 7 p.m. both evenings, and tickets are $5. For more information about the production, call 802-451-3762.