''Scapino'', also written ''Scapino!'', is a 1974 play adapted by

Jim Dale Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In British ...

and Frank Dunlop from ''

Les Fourberies de Scapin ''Scapin the Schemer'' () is a three-act comedy of intrigue by the French playwright Molière. The title character Scapin is similar to the archetypical Scapino character. The play was first staged on 24 May 1671 in the theatre of the Palais- ...

'' by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

opened at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

in New York. A production by the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

, it starred Jim Dale,

Denise Coffey Denise Dorothy Coffey (12 December 1936 – 24 March 2022) was an English actress, comedian, director and playwright. Early life Coffey was born in Aldershot in 1936, the only child of Dorothy (''née'' Malcolm), and her husband, Denis Coffey, ...

and

Ian Trigger Ian Trigger (30 September 1938 – 6 January 2010) was a British actor of stage, film and television who had a successful career in the United States. A diminutive actor, Trigger worked in London's West End, on Broadway in New York, and acr ...

and was directed by Frank Dunlop.The Theater: ‘Scapino’
- ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 15 March 1974 The production later moved to the Ambassador Theatre in New York. In this adaptation Molière's French play is transposed to modern

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in a British

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

-style. Here the deceitful valet

Scapino {{Use dmy dates, date=January 2024 Scapino or Scapin is a Zanni character from the commedia dell'arte. His name is related to the Italian language, Italian word ''scappare'' ('to escape') and his name translates to 'little escape artist', in ref ...

contrives to bring his master's children of two sons and two daughters and their various loves together through all kinds of trickery - despite his master's own plans for them. ''Scapino''
(1974) - ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...

'' (1974) The music was by

. In 1974 Frank Dunlop was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director; Dale won the

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

and the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

in 1974, while in 1975 Dale was nominated for Best Actor and Dunlop for Best Director at the 29th Tony Awards.

Cast

(The first names appeared in the original production at the

in New York. The second set are the cast after the show moved to the Ambassador Theatre in New York. *

(servant of Geronte) -

*Headwaiter - Barry Michlin *Waiters - Hugh Hastings and Alan Coates/George Connolly and Norman Abrams *Waitress - Jenny Austen/Holly Villaire *Argante -

*Giacinta -

Mel Martin Mel Martin (born March 1947) is an English actress. Early life Her father was the artist Frank Vernon Martin, who died in 2005. Career Her breakthrough role was as the star of LWT's '' Love For Lydia'' (1977), adapted from the novel by H E ...

/Connie Fursland *Carlo -

Andrew Robertson Andrew Henry Robertson (born 11 March 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays at left-back for club Liverpool and captains the Scotland national team. He is regarded as one of the best left-backs of his generation and one of th ...

/John Horn *Ottavio (son of Argant) -

Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Academy Award, Oscar-winning 1981 film ''Chariots ...

/Christopher Hastings *Sylvestro (servant of Argante, friend of Scapino) - Gavin Reed *Geronte -

Paul Brooke Paul Brooke (born 22 November 1944) is a retired English actor. He made his film debut in 1972 in the Hammer film '' Straight on till Morning'', followed by performances in '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''Scanda ...

/J. Frank Lucas *Leandro (son of Geronte) - Phil Killian *Zerbinetta (a gypsy, beloved of Leandro) -

Hattie Winston Hattie Winston (born March 3, 1945) is an American film, television and Broadway actress. She is known for her roles as Margaret Wyborn on '' Becker'', Lucy Carmichael in '' Rugrats'', '' The Rugrats Movie'', and the spin off series '' All Gro ...

*Nurse - Lotti Taylor/Bertha SklarProduction of ''Scapino''
(1974) -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scapino (play 1974 plays Broadway plays Off-Broadway plays Plays based on works by Molière