The Play's the Thing

Perhaps it's my own background in theatre, but I found this episode to be hysterical -- while it doesn't really deal with much of anything in the grand scheme of the Xenaverse, it seemed to me that they had a lot of fun making it, which is always a plus in my book. Gabrielle's new found philosophy is given a comic treatment that some fans found disrespectful, but should be taken in fun, as it was intended.

Basic plot synopsis; Gabrielle backtracks to a town ("The Great Appian Way") to retrieve a scroll she left behind. The scroll has been found by a con artist (a.k.a. a "Producer") played by Jennifer Ward-Leland (who was last seen as Boadicea back in The Deliverer) and her suitably weaselly assistant.

In a nod to the classic film (and Broadway show) The Producers, this woman wants to produce Gabrielle's scroll as a play, certain that it will fail and she'll be able to abscond with all the money while the warlords who have funded the project separate Gabby's head from her shoulders. Joxer comes along for the ride, as does Minya (last seen in The Quill is Mightier...).

This episode is fluff, but fun fluff. All of the theatrical stereotypes are played to in one way or another -- including a centaur method actor named Dustus Hoofmanus who won't play quadrupeds because he refuses to limit himself.

Gabrielle writes, directs, and plays herself in the show, and gets appropriately carried away. Trying to get across her message of peace, she resorts to gratuitous blood, sex, and so forth ("They'll get the message if we have to cram it down their throats!").

This episode, in my opinion, has its share of nice moments -- the best being when Minya (at the end) comes out and declares she has finally realized that she's a thespian (and walks off arm in arm with the actress who portrayed Xena in Gabby's play).

Like I said, I probably found this a lot funnier because of familiarity. I know the subject matter, and while it was fluff I found it a great deal of fun. One of the better purely comic episodes of the later years.

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