About the Play:

The Servant of Two Masters (English-language version of Il servitore di due padroni) is a full-length comedy by Carlo Goldoni, translated and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi. Identities are mistaken, engagements are broken, and lovers are reunited in this contemporary version of the Commedia dell'Arte classic about a wise-cracking servant and how he confuses everyone around him by moonlighting for two employers.

The Servant of Two Masters is a foundational piece of Commedia dell'arte, an Italian theatrical form which flourished throughout Europe between the 16th-18th centuries. This version of Carlo Goldoni's masterpiece is a cross between traditional Italian commedia and postmodern vaudeville that pits the madcap servant Truffaldino against masters, mistresses, lovers, lawyers and twenty-seven plates of meatballs. Imagine a Bob Hope comedy written by the legendary Monty Python comedy troupe and performed with the physical virtuosity of Charlie Chaplin – with places in the script for ad-libs and audience participation. The Servant of Two Masters is a collision course of clowning and a wonderful homage to American vaudeville performers.

Servant of Two Masters is an 18th-century comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni. This adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi was first performed by Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 1999. It's still enormously popular, and is a staple of community theatres, regional repertory houses, and high schools.

Cast: 3 female, 6 male

What people say:

"Nothing short of brilliant … [The Servant of Two Masters] does commedia proud! Gags, wisecracks, sly sexual references, acrobatics … this is the real thing!" — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"A circus of styles tumbling backwards, forwards and sideways…full of ancient, hooting laughs zapped together with up-your-alley anachronisms. Shower flowers on director Paolo Landi and Jeffrey Hatcher for their re-working of the eighteenth-century Italian script. Broad, bold, whacked-out and wild! A tour-de-farce! Unforgettable, undiminished delight!" — Milwaukee Weekly

About the Playwright:

Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (1707-1793) was a Venetian playwright, renowned for his witty and observant comedies inspired by the Commedia dell'Arte tradition. Born to a middle class family, he initially studied (and briefly practiced) law before becoming a playwright. Even during his office hours, he managed to sketch out scenes and subjects for comedies.

Jeffrey Hatcher is an award-winning American writer for stage, screen, and television. He grew up in Ohio before attending New York University to study acting. After a brief career on stage, he turned his attention to writing. His many award-winning plays, original and adaptations, have been performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in theatres around the world.