By adapting the television comedy for the stage Me…and the other, Kim Lévesque-Lizotte noticed how avant-garde the characters of Dodo and Denise are. The Press spoke with the author at the start of rehearsals for the show last May.
With Me…and the other, Kim Lévesque-Lizotte signs her first play. And brings to life the mythical characters played by Dominique Michel and Denise Filiatrault, two free and independent women featured in the sitcom created by Gilles Richer at Radio-Canada in 1966.
“I watched lots of episodes from all seasons before writing the play. I think this comedy has aged very well. Because of the personality, the strength of character of its two heroines. And also the comic dynamics, the very modern humor of the tandem of Dodo and Denise,” explains the creator of the series. The Simones.
Kim Lévesque-Lizotte imagined a new plot that takes place in the year of Expo 67, with the Quiet Revolution and the opening of Quebec to the world, the sexual revolution, the arrival of the miniskirt and of the contraceptive pill.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Kim Lévesque-Lizotte signs her first play with the theatrical adaptation of Me…and the other.
The actress Isabel Richer (who holds the rights to the work of her father, who died in 1999) and her partner, the producer Éric Belley, thought of Kim Lévesque-Lizotte, who was very flattered by their offer. “I knew Kim well, because I taught him at the National School of Humor,” Belley says. It can bridge the gap between eras and generations. She can be very funny in her writing, but she is also able to attach her humor to a more serious subject. »
Feminists in miniskirts
The story takes place at the dawn of Expo 67. Dodo and Denise are single and live in the same building. The two friends and accomplices are always dressed like fashion cards. “They find themselves involved in a competition of talents and romantic conquests, in a competition organized by a great French star. Will their beautiful friendship resist these upheavals? », we write in the summary.
“Dodo and Denise are uninhibited, ambitious and very free. There is a perception of first wave feminism as something austere, radical and anti-guy… However, you can be a feminist and dress in pink, wear high heels. We must stop having the perception that what is feminine takes away our strength, our credibility,” says the screenwriter, who loved the feminist message of the film barbie.
“Fifty years in the history of a company is a snap of the fingers. Have things changed that much since 1967? », asks Éric Belley.
I think that the play will allow young girls of 20, 25 years old to compare the two eras… and to realize all the battles fought to achieve the current status of women.
Éric Belley, producer
Under the direction of Charles Dauphinais, Juliette Gosselin and Alexa-Jeanne Dubé will play Dodo and Denise. The cast also includes Henri Chassé (the building manager, Monsieur Lavigueur) and Marc St-Martin (the concierge Gustave). Three characters are added to the new plot: Sandrine Bisson will play Mrs. Clark and Joëlle Paré-Beaulieu will play Johanne Hébert, respectively the English-speaking neighbor and a friend of Dodo and Denise. David Corriveau will be Hébert Léotard, a successful French singer.
PHOTO MICHEL GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Dominique Michel, Denise Filiatrault and Jean Bissonnette, director of Me…and the other in the 1960s, with among others Réal Béland
According to Kim Lévesque-Lizotte, Dodo and Denise made Quebecers who watched the show broadcast on Radio-Canada between 1966 and 1971 dream.
These women lived their freedom by proxy. It must be remembered that three years before the first season , married women still had to have their husband’s signature to sign a lease and open a bank account!
Kim Lévesque-Lizotte, author of the adaptation
But the author also wants to illustrate the masculine condition of the time. “I gave a lot of importance to the character of Gustave. Because I want us to understand where this man comes from, this concierge born for nothing. And not that he only suffers from events, remaining the foil of Dodo and Denise. »
At the Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne from June 27, then on tour across Quebec until summer 2025
Visit the show website