The crafty Scapin, servant to the household of Geronte, jumps into the story as he first promises to help in the affairs of his neighbor's son, Octave, then to aid in those of his own charge, Leander (Geronte's son). Both young men have fallen in love with unlikely, and penniless beauties, and both need money to help solve their dilemmas. Scapin knows a good ruse will always win the day and he drafts Sylvestre, Octave's servant, into his schemes. Convincing Sylvestre he's a wonderful actor (and allowing him to build characterizations using movie cliches), Scapin has him play characters who will deceive the family patriarchs into parting with large sums of money. The final scene of the first act is a vaudeville/music hall version of Molire's famous scene in which Scapin spins a tale of kidnapping, foreigners and ransom. Once the money is obtained, however, Scapin pushes further in order to exact a little revenge on those he's served. Thinking Geronte has said something nasty about him, Scapin sets out to teach him a lesson. The roguish words, however, are Scapin's own lies and stories finally coming back to him, his revenge backfires and he must flee. In the end however, Scapin's schemes aid in revealing the penniless beauties to be the exact right mates for the young chargesbeing of high birth after all since they are discovered to be the missing children of both patriarchsand Scapin returns to his post, with the pleasant punishment of having to marry the maidservant of one of the daughters. There is a final chase and dance among all the participants, which, inevitably, becomes the raucous, delightful curtain call.
This adaptation of Molire's 325-year-old farce Les Fourberies de Scapin followswith some alterationsthe play's original structure. It keeps the play in period setting while adding a late twentieth century spin to the language and action, and borrowing some final lines from Molire's La Contesse D'escarbagnas. "This SCAPIN, directed by Irwinfrom his felicitous adaptation with Mark O'Donnell, would probably have gone over big with the same audience who first saw Molire's Fourberies de Scapinin Paris in 1671." NY Times. "Commedia dell'arte and vaudeville have at least two things in common: baggy pants and Bill Irwin. All make for a natural fit in the celebrated clown's entirely unconventional adaptation of Molire's SCAPIN." Variety.