During Carlo Goldoni’s classic comedy “Mirandolina: Mistress of the Inn” last weekend, shown in the Dailey Theatre, Alex Frietas played the part of the Marquis of Forlipoppoli, who drinks a vase water to chase down the Captain Ripafratta’s spiced chocolate milk. The captain was played by Ray Del Rio. The characters offered laugh-out-loud dramatics and buffoonery prompted by their love of the manipulative and seductive Mirandolina, played by Ali Franco. / photo by Mitchell Aleman
Alison Rodriguez
Staff Writer
The whimsical and romantic ways of Florence swept the Dailey Theatre last weekend as audiences were entranced by the flirtatious “Mirandolina.”
Originally intended to be the senior acting and directing thesis of Alli Franco and Travis Snyder-Eaton, Carl Goldoni’s “Mirandolina: Mistress of the Inn” turned out to be much more than a major requirement.
The two spun the tale of a flirtatious young woman who teased men at her will. However, in the end, she fell for the man who had been there for her the entire time.
“After all is said and done, what I learned the most from this show is that women are bigger players than you think,” senior theater major Ray Del Rio said.
Del Rio played the role of the woman-hating sea captain who ended up falling the hardest for the charms of Mirandolina.
The show was brought up as an idea from senior theater major Snyder-Eaton, who wanted to use the show as his directing thesis.
“This was the first time the theater has done anything this ambitious and to this level for a senior project,” Eaton said.
“There was a lot of first-time tech people, but we managed to pull it together in the end.”
Senior theater major Franco also put a lot of time and thought into this production.
“When I first read the story, I found the role to be very interesting,” Franco said.
“I was nervous to play this woman who has men swooning over her left and right. I think the hardest part for me was making sure the audience knew why Mirandolina did what she did and to differentiate between the different sides of her.”
Set in Florence, Italy, during the 1920s, a beautiful innkeeper named Mirandolina, after reaching her eighteenth birthday, finally came of age to be married.
Deciding who to marry however was the biggest decision for her.
The show continued on with the innkeeper leading on three different suitors for personal gain and wealth.
In the end, she chose the man her father had approved of, her servant, Fabrizio, played by junior theater major Daniel Ramirez.
With only a $500 budget, the cast and crew managed to put together an elaborate set that had a great attention to detail.
The stage was adorned with a lobby furnished in styles from the 1920s and included several era-fitting props that brought the story to life.
The crew in charge of putting together the set was headed by sophomore theater major Cole Wagner.
“Yeah we had our hiccups, but I have the best actors here, and they’re hilarious,” Eaton said.
Although there were some bumps along the way, in the end the cast and crew of “Mirandolina” put together a great show that delighted audiences with its witty humor and intriguing story.
Alison Rodriguez can be reached at alison.rodriguez2@laverne.edu.
