The Three Cuckolds, 1976

The Three Cuckolds, a naughty farce in the style of the commedia dell’arte converted into a play by Leon Katz, debuted at the Salisbury State Theatre as the fall production in 1976.

The program stated that the commedia dell’arte, as it was acted in its purest form in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, was largely improvisational and typically coarse and obscene.

In the usual performance, a rough scenario of events to be enacted was tacked up backstage by the company manager and the actors conferred amongst themselves to decide on sequences of comic actions and dialogue.

The show was directed by Leland Starnes with “illumination” by Thomas Clemens, “décor” by Robert Cloyd, costumes by Carl O’Shea, songs by Ray Zeigler, and “dances” by Cathé Adkins.

The cast included, among others, David Dickson as the lusty Arlecchino, Robert Getz as braggadocio Coviello, Kathy Peters as Flaminia, Robert Wesley as Pantalone, Joe Mancuso as Zanni, Cathé Adkins as darling Franceschina, Brad Homan as Devil, Timothy Dykes as Leandro, Judy Groton as Cintia, Gary Weber as Giuseppe, Carol Koppelman as Maria, Robin Seidel as Corallina, and Nancy Tracey as Smeraldina.