One-act "farce" by Ludwig Thoma. Translated and adapted by Denise Elaine Heap.
Ludwig Thoma wrote FIRST CLASS in 1910. It debuted on August 12, 1910 in a folk theater in Egern/Tegernsee. And then "debuted" again in Munich on March 4, 1911.
Denise Heap has taken Ludwig Thoma's raucous romp and made it relevant for a US public. She preserved the turn-of-the-20th-century setting, but action takes place in rural Texas instead of Munich, Germany.
The bawdy, funny tale (PG-content, not R-rated) of the politician with a self-inflated ego matching wits with a country bumpkin he deems "beneath" him will keep your audience in stitches. Sometimes the dialog and action border on the slapstick, and indeed, it would have found resonance with vaudevillian performers. Nevertheless, the serious heart never stops beating, and Thoma's patented folk wisdom wins out, as usual.
Nine players in all: 7 adult males, 2 adult females, and 2 smaller roles that could be either (junior and senior conductor) if necessary.
ISBN (print): 978-0-9767183-5-2.
ISBN (digital download): 978-1-956508-11-6.
(c) 2013.