Ah, the good Dr. Caius of The Merry Wives of Windsor was one of those that really brought the house down. I've had a handful of those. Thisbe/Flute in Midsummer Night's Dream where it's usually Bottom's show. Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lacein one of Old Towne Los Gatos's last theater performances, now a Borders bookstore. Had performed in and out of that theater since 1969. Einstein brought the house down. He was pure madness, always had to go to the bathroom like I do just before I step out onto a stage. He was very frightened until unleashed by the power of his Dr.'s tool kit. Same with Flute/Thisbe. Flute has few lines in the Mechanicals scenes. It occured to me this was a shy guy, so he was pretty low-key until onstage before the Duke. Then he fairly burst forth on the scene. Transformation is a big part of my work. It's there in every character in every play. It's here in every human searching.
I didn't think Caius had much depth to him, but when I look at this picture I realize what people saw in the role I created. My thinking was that he was not really a frenchman, but had come across one in the past that so impressed him, Caius moved to another village and feigned the personage to be more attractive to the ladies and impress the gentlemen with his straaange accaaaant (Caius always spat in people's faces with his plosives), because he certainly doesn't know how to wield a sword, although always challenging folks.
