Doctor Scratch and Other Plays

Three French comedies revolving around marriage, misidentification, medicine--and money! DOCTOR SCRATCH, by Noël le Breton, is a clever and hilarious farce, in which love becomes hopelessly entangled in the attempts by the characters to improve their declining financial situations. THE SERVANT PROBLEM, by Alain-René Lesage, the well-known novelist, two criminals manage to insert themselves as valets to several young men looking to marry the daughters of wealthy families--and decide to abscond with the dowry themselves! In THE FORFEITURE, by Charles Dufresny, a handsome young man is constricted in his marriage prospects by the fact that his two maiden-lady aunts control the family fortune, which can only be forfeited to him if they marry. Another valet takes charge by seducing both women in different guises. Three very funny--and very modern--takes on the art and science of romancing!