You say, "clafoutis..."

A savvy, French-speaking patron wrote to us with the following question:

Just saw God of Carnage and was really bugged by a small detail. Why did the cast all mispronounce "clafoutis? Surely members of the aspirational class would know to put the accent on the last (NOT the second) syllable. Was this done intentionally to make them seem ignorant?

Brooks Ashmanskas enjoys
clafoutis in God of Carnage.
Photo: T. Charles Erickson

We turned to Charles Haugland (Artistic Programs and Dramaturgy), who often has the inside scoop on these sorts of decisions -- ones that are made in the rehearsal room by the director and actors as part of their process. He tells us:

[Director Daniel Goldstein] and the cast had a conversation about the pronunciation of "clafoutis" on the first day; they knew the "correct" French pronunciation, but had also heard the one they opted to use more often and casually in New York.

They decided it would be fussy to say it in perfect French, and to their mind, the pronunciation is not inaccurate so much as intentionally Americanized.


Of course, whether they should be eating clafoutis at all is a question, too. (Daniel questions translator Christopher Hampton's choice to leave clafoutis in the script when me moved the action from Paris to Brooklyn). Indeed in the movie, still set in Brooklyn but written by Yasmina Reza with director Polanski, they eat pear and apple cobbler, instead.

The Huntington Theatre Company's production of God of Carnage plays now through February 5, 2012 only at the B.U. Theatre. Get tickets and information or call our Box Office at 617 266 0800.

What Audiences Are Saying About GOD OF CARNAGE

Have you seen God of Carnage? Please share your comments with us.

• What do you think happens after the curtain goes down? Do the Raleighs bring their their son to apologize to the Novaks'? What happens next between the adults?

• Playwright Yasmina Reza weaves many symbols into her script, and scenic designer Dane Laffrey teases some of them out through his design. What symbols and scenic elements held meaning for you?

• Did you attend a post-show conversation? What comments surprised you or made you think differently about the play? Would you attend a post-show conversation again? What were you thinking about on the way home from the theatre?

Leave your comments here

The Huntington Theatre Company's presentation of God of Carnage plays now through February 5, 2012 only at the B.U. Theatre. Get tickets and information or call our Box Office at 617 266 0800.

Huntington Theatre Company tops honors lists for 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, we're thrilled and honored to see Huntington productions staged here and elsewhere recognized:

The Boston Globe - Don Aucoin
#1: Ruined
#2: Candide
#5: Richard III

The Boston Phoenix - Carolyn Clay
#2: Candide
"Obie-winning director Mary Zimmerman returned to Voltaire's 1759 novella to devise a new book for the Leonard Bernstein satiric operetta based on Candide. The result was a witty and imaginative production with shape as well as irony that fielded, in Lauren Molina, a daffily narcissistic Cunégonde glittering and being gay in a bathtub."

Zainab Jah, Carla Duren, and Pascale
Armand in Ruined. Photo: Kevin Berne

 #3: Ruined
"Even if it did not ride piggyback on the mighty shoulders of Bertolt Brecht, Lynn Nottage's 2009 Pulitzer winner, Ruined, would stand tall. Inspired by Mother Courage and set amid civil conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the play vividly depicts the way in which women's bodies serve as battlefields in war. Liesl Tommy's production for the Huntington Theatre Company was exotic, chaotic, and controlled, with an earthy, steely turn by Tonye Patano as equal-opportunity profiteer Mama Nadi." 

GOD OF CARNAGE in Rehearsal

We're now 10 days into rehearsals for God of Carnage.

In the room: Director Daniel Goldstein and a team of top-notch actors. Brooks Ashmanskas (a.k.a. Brooksy) and Christy Pusz play the visiting couple, Alan and Annette Raleigh. Stephen Bogardus (a.k.a. Bogie) and Johanna Day are the home team couple, Michael and Veronica Novak. There’s also Stage Manager Kevin Fitzpatrick, Assistant Stage Manager Amy Spalletta, and Production Assistants Kevin Schlagle and Jessica Wolf. Brooks jokes that there is one person on the stage management team for every actor. And then there’s me, Emily Ranii, I’m Danny’s assistant.


We’ve been working through about 10 pages of the script per day and then reviewing all that we have done so far at the end of rehearsal. Yesterday afternoon, we completed 100% of the script! (Kevin is very specific and likes to calculate -- as of Tuesday, we'd completed 84.4%.) It was very exciting to see it all put together!

We work in the rehearsal hall upstairs at 254 Huntington Ave. while the set is being loaded into the theatre downstairs at 264. We peaked our head into the theatre yesterday just as the carpenters were installing the stairscase of the Novak home. Designed by Dane Laffrey, the space is modern with high-rise ceilings and exposed staircases -- rich with chic industrial architecture. The inspiration for the yellow glass paneling was the cage for the Novak children’s deceased hamster, Nibbles. Indeed, the offstage children of God of Carnage control their pets as well as their parents.

After tomorrow, we'll be taking a three-day break for Christmas, but I'll be back next week with more news from inside the rehearsal room.

Emily Ranii is the assistant to the director for God of Carnage. She is a graduate student in directing at Boston University.