Rich, Famous and Made to Laugh At

We like to make fun of the idle rich. It is darn good entertainment when they get caught in the wrong bed, fall down drunk at awards banquets or have stupid fights in public. This makes us believe there is some justice in the universe: The rich may have all the money, but they don’t all have the good sense the rest of us are born with.

While tabloids that keep an eye on the antics of the rich and famous are a relatively new development, making fun of the money-laden is not. Shakespeare was fond of it, as was Moliere.

In that fine tradition of plays that make asses of the pompous and the fashionably dressed, International City Theatre in Long Beach brings us “Opera Comique.”

The unusual thing about this comedy on 19th-Century dandies is that it is a recent play--first performed at San Francisco’s Actor’s Conservatory Theater in 1985.

The action takes place at the opening performance of the opera “Carmen.” It is Paris, 1875, and all the swells are out, buzzing about Georges Bizet’s new opera. Looking on is rival composer Charles Gounod, alternately gnashing his teeth and gloating.

Carmen, with its modern themes and coarse language, was an utter failure when it premiered, giving Gounod a little rush of mean-spirited glee. Still, Bizet is getting all the attention, and we’re on our way to an absolutely glorious cat fight. Even in 1875, the rich knew how to put on a show in public.

If the names are not familiar to you, that’s OK, said Caryn F. Morse, general manager of International City Theatre. She assures us that this is a play that speaks to everyone.

And if you like double-entendres, mistaken identities and lots of doors opening and closing on the set--all the ingredients of a good farce--you probably will like this play.

The piece is done entirely in period costume, which means all the women’s bodies will be contorted into shapes God never intended. Back then, money got you lots of whale-bone corsets and girdles, worn by those who seemed to crave early destruction of their internal organs.

In this play, you not only get to watch the rich act foolishly, you can also rest easy, knowing that you are a lot more comfortable than they are.

Opera Comique plays at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 14 at International City Theatre, Long Beach City College campus, 4901 E. Carson St. For information, call (310) 420-4128.