# A Naughty Knight

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/A_Naughty_Knight
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/A_Naughty_Knight.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Naughty_Knight
> Source revision: 1351627945
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

***A Naughty Knight*** is a 2001 [musical comedy](/source/Musical_comedy) play written by William Martin with music and lyrics by [Chuck Strand](/source/Chuck_Strand). The play premiered at the [Off-Off Broadway](/source/Off-Off_Broadway) [Duke Theatre](/source/Duke_Theatre) in a production by the [Jewish Repertory Theatre](/source/Jewish_Repertory_Theatre).

## Plot

*A Naughty Knight* is based loosely on [Mark Twain](/source/Mark_Twain)'s short story "A Medieval Romance." It tells the story of Constance, a young princess living with her father in exile on a desert island. The princess dresses up as a boy and seizes her chance for freedom. She returns to the zany kingdom ruled by her father's evil twin brother, King Berger. She soon falls for Jervis, and is romantically pursued by the king's daughter.

## Productions

*A Naughty Knight* opened in previews at the Duke Theater on May 20, 2001, with an official premiere on June 3, 2001. The production was directed by the play's author, William Martin. Steven Silverstein directed, with Rebecca Kupka in the role of Constance, [Christopher J. Hanke](/source/Christopher_Hanke) as Jervis, and Mark Manley as Constance's father, the exiled prince. The production closed as scheduled on June 17, 2001.[1][Notes 1]

## Reception

*A Naughty Knight* received mixed reviews. *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* said of its book "[its] wordplay amounts to little more than sophomoric double-entendre"[2] but praised its music, saying "[its] music and lyrics by Chuck Strand have consistent charm."[2] Matthew Murray, writing for *Talkin' Broadway*, noted that the book "tends to get off track during the second act, when it seems to have more story than it completely knows how to handle",[3] while Strand's score includes songs that "drive a point much further than it needs to go... [and] have a tendency to stop the show dead, or repeat what has already been covered in dialogue."[3]

## Notes

1. Unlike [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) productions that schedule an open-ended run until ticket sales wane, [Off-Broadway](/source/Off-Broadway) repertory companies often schedule shows for only a limited run, in keeping with the repertory nature of the company.

## References

1. Jones, Kenneth (17 June 2001). ["A Naughty Knight says Nighty-night at JRT in Mahnattan June 17"](http://www.playbill.com/article/a-naughty-knight-says-nighty-night-at-jrt-in-manhattan-june-17-com-97824). *Playbill*[dead link]

1. Van Gelder, Lawrence (4 June 2001). ["THEATER REVIEW; Land Where Dressers And Bows Are Cross"](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/04/theater/theater-review-land-where-dressers-and-bows-are-cross.html). *The New York Times*

1. Murray, Matthew (4 June 2001). ["A Naughty Knight"](http://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/ob/6_4_01.html). Retrieved 19 October 2016.

## Further reading

- Willis, John (ed.) (2004). "A Naughty Knight". *Theatre World*. Vol. 58. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 56. ISBN 9781557836267.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [A Naughty Knight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Naughty_Knight) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Naughty_Knight?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.