Le Diner de Cons

Wednesday, October 24. Tonight I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I'm still aglow from a stellar performance of Le Diner de Cons, written and directed by Francis Veber and presented at the Theatre de la Porte Saint Martin. If I hadn't par hazard seen the poster for the production shortly after I arrived in Paris, and if it hadn't been playing during exactly the time that I'm here, and if I hadn't previously seen the film in the US (with English subtitles), I wouldn't have known the story and if I hadn't known the story, I wouldn't have dared to go see it. But I did, and it was, and I did. As a result of all of this amazing coming together of circumstance, I have seen a comedic performance that is at least as good if not better than anything I have ever seen before. Dany Boon's performance as Francois Pignon must equal that of Nathan Lane in The Producers on Broadway. The well-known French actors in the leading roles were absolutely superb along with solid secondary role performances. Of course, the French actors were not well-known to me before tonight, but they all received applause from the audience the minute they walked on stage. And the applause at the end was endless - lost count of the curtain calls. I walked on air all the way home. Thank you, thank you, thank you for another transcendant evening in the theatre.

Other than that, I had a three-hour French tutoring session this morning and had my hair cut in the afternoon. I will have more to say about those things later but right now I'm re-living the evening. Bonne nuit.

Later . . . much later . . . as in days later:

I had my hair cut at Contact Coiffeur by Cathy (recommended by Sophie). Wow is she good. Just whips those scissors around. It's always a little scary going to an unknown hairdresser but turned out just fine.

More about the Theatre de la Porte St Martin: I walk straight up the r. Saint Martin to the theatre. It's small, much like one of the old Broadway theatres. A dome painted dark turquoise with a sparkling gold and glass chandelier. Red velvet seats. Four balconies! At the end of each row is a fold down seat and, once they are all filled, late-comers have to walk single file down the aisle. I have a fabulous seat: 9th row center on the aisle (until someone sits in the fold-down seat!). I couldn't have asked for anything better as I'm close enough to read the lips of the actors! (Of course, during the actual production, the actors don't exactly stand still facing the front so I can read their lips but occasionally it helps!) I'm feeling such a sense of anticipation before the show begins - truly, one of the nicest things about the theatre experience.

An amusing moment: The sole remuneration for the ushers who show you to your seat are tips given to them by the theatre-goers. Strange system but there you have it. Of course, I have completely forgotten about this but the usher gently reminds me (it is not, however, obligatoire, but it is customary). I have a brief moment of confusion when I confuse "pourboire" (the word for "tip") with "pour boire" which basically I understood at first as "do you want something to drink." Ah yes, the French homophones. Definitely a problem a l'orale. Fortunately, I recovered quickly and did the right thing! :)

My new motto: En anglais, je suis avocat; En francais, je suis idiote!








Three weeks from today, I leave to go home.