Raise your hand if you hate the three stooges. . . Ok you ara all fired. The rerst of you. This play is sort of like the more speaking version of the three stooges. It is also a little more serious. : ( We know the stock characters and the physical comedy is a given. Alot of what we need to focus on is the improv. It is often overlooked in productions of Early Modern Italy. Just be glad we are working on this rather than a Pastoral!
La Mandragola was written by Niccolo Machiavelli and is widely known as jis finest work. It is the story of Callimaco who hears of a beautiful woman in his home land. He returns home and decides he must have her, only trouble is she's married. Callimaco enlists the help of Ligurio a marriage broker who is described in the script as a parasite. Machiavelli then writes an entertaining story of disguise and ridiculous situations.
The following is some notes on Machiavelli and La mandragola from http://www.emachiavelli.com/Mandrasum.htm
When Ligurio says to Nicia that "someone like you, who remains all day in his study, understands those books but is unable to discuss the things of the world" Lord suggests that this may be the true feelings of Machiavelli towards Soderini. How Machiavelli felt about Soderini is important for continuing the allegory. Lord points to Machiavelli's epigram on Soderini to provide further evidence of Machiavelli's contempt for Soderini:"The night Piero Soderini died, his soul went to the mouth of Hell, and Pluto cried out to it: Foolish soul, why Hell? Go to Limbo with the children."