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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

The Country Wife

A poster for The Country Wife.

December 11, 2023
2537 Broadway, New York, NY 10025

Jack Horner spreads the rumor that he’s impotent, the better to cuckold every highborn husband in London. That’s the setup for William Wycherly’s raunchy Restoration comedy (“Restoration” and “raunchy” being in this case synonymous.) Double entendres fly. Rather than show his lady friends his etchings, Horner takes them to his china closet to check out his collection of cups and saucers. Too bad for Lady Fidget’s rival, who has shown up too late. “What do you think,” says Fidget, “if he had had any left, I would not have had it too? For we women of quality never think we have China enough.” The Red Bull Theater, Manhattan’s boutique for neglected English and Continental classics, presents The Country Wife in a new musical adaptation by the veteran showbiz team Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire. A benefit concert, one night only. —Matthew Gurewitsch

Photo courtesy of the Red Bull Theater