Trama

Monsieur Feydeau has writer's block, and he needs a new play. But he takes an opportunity to observe the upper class of 1900 Paris, Monsieur Boniface with a domineering wife, and the next-door neglectful husband Henri with a beautiful, but ignored wife, Marcelle. Henri traces architectural anomalies (most ghost sounds are drains), and plans a night at the Hotel Paradiso, but this hotel is the assignation spot of Marcelle and Boniface. One wife, two husbands, a nephew, and the perky Boniface maid, all at this "by the hour" hotel, and consummation of the affair is, to say the least, severely compromised (not the least by a police raid). All of this under Feydeau's eye, and his play is the "success fou" of the next season.—Bruce Cameron <dumarest@midcoast.com>

1900. Engineer Benedict Boniface is the henpecked husband of overbearing Angelique Boniface. Marcelle Cot feels neglected by her structural architect husband, Henri Cot. The Bonifaces and the Cots live in the same residential enclave in suburban Paris. On the occasion of Mme. Boniface heading off on an overnight trip to spend some time with her ailing sister and M. Cot having an overnight business trip in the city to inspect a hotel out of which mysterious, unexplained noises are emanating in the middle of the night, M. Boniface takes the opportunity to confess to Marcelle that he is attracted to her, in the hopes that she feels the same about him, and that she would be amenable to having an affair while their respective spouses are away. She is on both counts. M. Boniface believes the place they should go is the Hotel Paradiso, which has been slyly advertising without the authorities' knowledge that it is not averse to renting rooms "by the hour". The hotel is operated by Anniello, who, with the assistance of his naive busboy George, has ulterior motives for operating this type of establishment. Beyond being able truly to think about the nature of what they are about to do, M. Boniface and Marcelle find that they may have problems embarking on their affair because of who they learn is also at the hotel: stormy weather-induced stuttering M. Martin, a barrister friend of the Bonifaces, and his four adolescent daughters; Victoire and Maxime, the Bonifaces' maid and M. Cot's nephew respectively, the two who want to partake in a little hanky-panky of their own, and M. Cot, this the hotel which is the one he is supposed to inspect. Beyond not wanting to be seen by those that know them, M. Boniface and Marcelle try to leave the hotel, which is easier said than done. Even if they are able to make it out of the hotel, M. Boniface and Marcelle may still have some issues when they make it home based on what may have been seen at the hotel. Through it all, a mysterious man with a professional problem observes the proceedings, the goings-on which may be able to assist in he overcoming his issue.—Huggo