‘Enchanted April’ onstage in Thibodaux

The title of Matthew Barber’s 2003 adaptation of the popular 1920’s-era novel “Enchanted April” for the theater does not refer to a female character in the play, but to the month.

And what a magical month it turns out to be.

“Enchanted April,” Thibodaux Playhouse’s newest offering as part of Nicholls State University’s Jubilee: A Festival of the Arts and Humanities, is about four women who leave dreary post-World War I England to spend time at a castle in flowery Italy.

Director Sheela Plater had watched her daughter act in a production of “Enchanted April” in Idaho and knew she would like to do the play, even though it would be difficult.

Three of the women in “Enchanted April” lead constricted lives, and look to find rejuvenation down south minus the spouses, at least for a while.

Lotty Wilton (Yvette Bilello) and Rose Arnott (Adrienne Naquin-Bolton), the two main characters, do not know one another well, but both have had problems with their mates and both are repressed to varying degrees.

“One has been smothered by her husband, the other rejected,” Plater said. “Mellersh, Lotty’s husband (double-casted with Damon Stentz and Blair Degruise), is demanding. He expects to be waited on hand and foot. He loves her, but sees her only as a caretaker.”

“Frederick, Rose’s husband (Todd Keller), was a poet, but now is a writer of risqué novels,” Plater said. “His wife is upset because she believes he’s lost his true calling. He is going to parties, drinking-not the right things to do.”

Lotty and Rose see an “advert” for the castle in Italy and take along imperious Mrs. Graves (Merlyn Foret) and liberated Lady Caroline Bramble (Toni Lynn Guidry) to help pay the expenses.

“Graves is stodgy, she lives in the past. Bramble is a socialite, a freethinker,” Plater said. “All the women have lost something, whether it be a relationship, or loving people. In Italy, they regain a sense of themselves.”

Both husbands end up joining their wives in Italy, but playboy Frederick goes mostly to see seductive Lady Bramble.

“He’s lonely, he needed to see someone who appreciated him,” Plater said. “He’s impressed by Caroline’s freedom. She seems to be happy. His wife is solemn. Caroline sees Frederick as not just a bon vivant. She likes him as a person.”

While in Italy, the women’s lives begin to blossom, helped along by the castle’s owner, Antony Wilding (Doug Holloway), who is immediately smitten with Rose.

“He shows her that people find her attractive,” Plater said. “She comes to life because of the attention.”

Frederick sees the change in Rose and their relationship ends up happy, as does Lotty and Mellersh’s, the Mediterranean air evidently causing randiness among all the players.

“After a month, they want their husbands back. They realize their unhappiness was inside them,” Plater said. “They accept love again as a possibility.”

“The wives are now so affectionate and loving,” she said. “The husbands are captivated by the feeling of happiness. Mellersh ends up playing the piano. Frederick reads poetry. They gain depth.”

An Italian-only speaking housekeeper at the castle, Costanza (Mary Ann Matherne), delivers hilarious commentary on the goings-on throughout the second act, even though she cannot be exactly understood.

The character of Costanza was not included in the 1991 movie version of “Enchanted April.”

Plater said the mother of Jubilee Festival coordinator Angela Hammerli, Angelina Mitchell, who came to the U.S. as a war bride from Sicily, helped Matherne with the Italian words.

The production team also brought in a native of Britain to help the rest of the cast with their accents.

Transitioning the set from the first act’s grey England to the second act’s flowery Italy has proved more difficult.

“There are simplistic settings in the first act,” Plater said. “Italy opens up. It’s a sight. It has wisteria, the Italian seaside in the back. We hope it’s gorgeous.”

“The first act is rain and dim lighting,” she said. “Everyone is depressed because of the weather. It’s been a problem hiding Italy during the first act.”

Nevertheless, the play focuses on the characters’ growth.

“They understand other people have had loss,” Plater said. “They learn from each other. It’s a delightful play.”

“Enchanted April” is being staged Friday, April 17, Saturday, April 18, and Thursday, April 23, through Sunday, April 26, at the Thibodaux Playhouse’s Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center Theater at 314 St. Mary Street near downtown Thibodaux.

Showtimes are all at 7:30 p.m. except for the Sunday matinee-only production at 2 p.m.

The admission cost is $10 for nonmembers. Call (985) 446-1896 for more information.

Lotty (Yvette Bilello) and Rose (Adrienne Naquin-Bolton) pray for some help to relieve their fears about their arrival in Italy for a holiday.