The Commedia Pied Piper of Hamlin

Four commedia dell’arte actors perform all roles in this fast-paced, hilarious play. The rats of Hamlin (dressed with black ball caps) are hungry and demand the Mayor “set things rat, rat now!” And so you can see how poor pronunciation of a simple word created a terrible disagreement between the rats and the citizens of the clean little hamlet. The Mayor, portrayed by Punchin, the dell’ arte character with the big, proud nose, asks the Queen of the Cats, the Duke of the Dogs, the Earl of the Eagles, the High Prince of the Possums, and even the Countess of Caterpillars for help, to no avail. When a Piper, played by the character of Arlequin, offers to rid the town of all the rats for a sum equal to the Mayor’s annual salary, the Mayor quickly agrees. He knows the task is impossible and he won’t have to pay at all. The Piper charms the rats right out of town, but the Mayor delays payment, wanting a guarantee the rats are gone. A month later the Mayor again tries to avoid payment by trying to con the Piper into believing a slipper is a dead rat. That’s when the Piper is forced to charm away the children. And so the Mayor has to “pay the piper” and the Piper finally leaves the town in peace, more or less. Well, the children were a little difficult after spending so much time with the rats. The show’s costumes, scenery, atmosphere, special effects and magic are all created by the actors on stage for non-stop action and laughter.