The PlayFinder™

Jupiter, king of the Gods, has again become enamored with a mortal woman, Alcmena, wife of the military general, Amphitryon. During the general's absence in the field, Jupiter assumes Amphitryon's form, and is gladly welcomed home and into Alcmena's bed. The god Mercury aids in the deception by assuming the role of Amphitryon's valet, Sosia. The next morning, the real Sosia arrives to tell Alcmena that her husband will soon return home, but he is thwarted by his own double (Mer... Read more

Drawn from the immortal Greek drama by Euripides, Racine's play focuses on the unhappy fate of Andromache and the murderous passions that churn around her. Beloved by her captor, Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, Andromache remains true to the memory of her slain husband, Hector. When the Greeks demand that she give her son over to them Pyrrhus offers Andromache a cynical choice: Marry him, or her son will be killed. In desperation, Andromache decides to wed Pyrrhus and then take h... Read more

Molière's THE BUNGLER (1655) takes place in the Sicilian city of Messina and is a fresh, zestful verse treatment of the familiar elements of Italian popular comedy. A beautiful young woman named Célie has been traveling with a gypsy band and, shortly before the play begins, has been left by the gypsies with a rich old man named Trufaldin as security for a loan. Two young men of Messina, Lélie and Léandre, have lately been rivals for the hand of a girl named Hippolyte, but when ... Read more

Long ago in Sicily, the legend of Don Juan began. In this, Moliére's version of the tale, we meet Don Juan again. He is a man who appreciates beauty wherever and whenever he sees it—and beauty is almost always a pretty woman, who he appreciates by winning her love. Don Juan is on a constant quest to conquer women and to enjoy the passion they provoke. He is accompanied, somewhat reluctantly, by his manservant Sganarelle, who backs him up to the public, but behind his back tries... Read more

Gorgibus wants his daughter, Celie, to marry a rich man, Valere, instead of Lelie, whom she loves. Celie, lamenting this turn of events while her beloved is away, faints. Her maid catches her and calls out for help. Sganarelle, who happens to be passing, runs over to hold Celie while her maid runs for aid. Sganarelle's wife, however, sees him holding Celie and suspects the worst. She finds a portrait of Lelie, dropped by Celie when she fainted, and admires his good looks. Sgana... Read more

Published in 1636, LE CID was held as an ideal work of drama for years by subsequent playwrights. In this tragic coming-of-age story, a young knight is asked to defend his father's honor by challenging his future father-in-law to a duel. Caught between filial devotion and romantic love, LE CID is in an impossible situation, and he solves this dilemma through true heroic action.... Read more

Clitandre seeks the hand of Henriette, a match heartily approved of by her father, Chrysale. However, his wife, Philaminte, has other plans for her younger daughter—namely marriage to Trissotin, a foppish wit who panders to Philaminte's intellectual pretensions. Further complications are introduced by Armande, Henriette's older sister, who once rejected Clitandre but now resents his attentions to Henriette; by Bélise, Chrysale's sister, who believes (erroneously) that all men a... Read more

Newly arrived in Paris, Dorante meets two women in the Tuileries, Clarice and Lucrece. He falsely boasts about his brave military exploits, falling in love with Clarice in the process. But the joke is on Dorante; he believes Clarice to be named Lucrece, and so he sets about courting the wrong woman. Can Dorante disentangle himself from his many lies and confusions?... Read more

LOVERS' QUARRELS (1656) was Molière's second full-length play in verse, and it is a complex comedy animated by deception and misunderstanding. A young woman (Ascagne) has worn masculine disguise since childhood, for the sake of an inheritance that would otherwise go to the household of young Valère. Ascagne loves Valère, who is a suitor of her sister Lucile, and cleverly manages to marry him in a midnight ceremony, Valère believing that his veiled and unseen bride is Lucile. Va... Read more

Outraged and disheartened by the vain flattery and calculated duplicity of his fellow men, Alceste declares that henceforth he will speak only the truth—no matter what offense this might give. His philosophic friend Philinte counsels him to temper his rashness, but Alceste claims that he can no longer tolerate the conventions of saying one thing to a person's face and another behind his back. Ironically, Alceste is enamored of the young widow Celimene, whose malicious tongue an... Read more

Based on a legend first dealt with by Euripides (in Greek) and Seneca (in Latin) the action of the play centers on the tragic fate of Phaedra, wife of Theseus, the King of Athens, who falls passionately in love with her stepson, Hippolytus. At first Phaedra attempts to deny her attraction for the handsome young Hippolytus, but when word arrives that Theseus has been slain, Phaedra declares her love, much to the shock and dismay of Hippolytus, who is deeply enamored of another. ... Read more

Two brothers, Sganarelle and Ariste, have been named guardians of a deceased friend's two daughters, to raise and even marry if they see fit. Ariste has raised Leonor with great freedom, allowing her to go to parties, indulging her whims and leaving her free to marry whomever she chooses. But Sganarelle has raised Isabelle quite differently, keeping her a virtual prisoner and intending to marry her, no matter what she desires. Ariste has tried to convince his younger brother th... Read more

Fearing cuckoldry above all else, Arnolphe has painstakingly trained the guileless Agnes from childhood to become his obedient and faithful wife. Although he has carefully shielded her from the outside world, romance finds her in the form of the dashing Horace, son of one of Arnolphe's best friends. Unaware of who his rival is, the trusting Horace enlists Arnolphe's aid in wooing Agnes—that leads to a series of hilarious and inventive twists and turns of plot, until the inevita... Read more

One of the most hilarious French plays ever written, Racine's only comedy (1688) tells of a judge named Nigaud who has lost his mind from overwork and yet is possessed with the desire to go to court and try cases day and night. His son, Léandre, abetted by Petit-Jean (the judge's porter) and Leclerc (the judge's clerk), does his best to confine him to his house and to deny access to litigious persons—such as Chicanneau and the Countess of Pimbesche—who wish to consult him regar... Read more

The story takes place in the home of the wealthy Orgon, where Tartuffe—a fraud and a pious imposter—has insinuated himself. He succeeds magnificently in winning the respect and devotion of the head of the house, and then tries to marry his daughter and seduce his wife and scrounge the deed to the property. He nearly gets away with it, but an emissary from King Louis XIV arrives in time to recover the property, free Monsieur Orgon, and haul Tartuffe off to jail. And so his dupli... Read more

THE THEATRE OF ILLUSION is a tale of magic, love, revenge, mistaken identity, and mistaken perspective. Described by the author as a comedy, a "caprice" and an "extravagance," it is widely considered to be Pierre Corneille's masterpiece.... Read more