Barber of Seville, The

One-Acts 20

By: C. Edward Wheaton
Cast: 6 M, 4 F, 2 flexible, opt. extras (With doubling 5 M, 3 F, 2 flexible)
Performance Time: Approximately 30 minutes, 24 pgs.

COMEDY. Though The Barber of Seville is best known as a comic opera by Gioacchino Rossini (1816), the original play by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1775) is considered one of the greatest European comedies of the 18th century. Rodrigo is desperate to make Rosina his wife, but Rosina’s father, Señor Bartholo, has arranged for Rosina to marry the very old, very wealthy, and very senile Count Almaviva in just one week. Since Rosina is opposed to marrying the Count, her father has forbid her to leave the house and has hired a professional chaperone to guard Rosina and keep away all would-be suitors. For a “small fee,” the clever Figaro, who just happens to be Señor Bartholo’s barber, orchestrates a rendezvous between Rodrigo and Rosina. On the day Figaro is to shave Señor Bartholo, Figaro gives Rosina’s music teacher a strong laxative and then arranges for Rodrigo to masquerade as Rosina’s guitar teacher. This delightful easy-to-stage one-act adaptation contains the wit and gaiety of the original story and introduces a new character, the hilarious “professional chaperone,” Señora Delgato.

Freeviews: To read play excerpts click here.

About the Story: To read more about the story click here.

C. Edward Wheaton (1950-2019) studied drama at Stanislaus State College and had an extensive background in 19th-century and early 20th-century American drama and literature. He was from Stevinson, CA.