The Play's the Thing

Gabrielle unknowingly becomes a pawn in a theater scam when one of her scrolls falls into the hands of Zehra, the "Queen of Cons".

Summary
Xena and Gabrielle are travelling to Archon. They take a pit stop in a large valley, where Xena and Gabrielle practice yoga, but Gabrielle is upset over losing the scroll that details her latest journeys with Xena. Xena tells her to go back to Piraeus to find the scroll and they can meet in Archon later.

When Gabrielle returns to Pireaus, she encounters Joxer and is approached by Zehra and Milo, who have the missing scroll. Zehra, who thinks Gabrielle's message of peace is inspirational, introduces herself as a producer and convinces Gabrielle to base a play on her writings. Thrilled with the idea, Gabrielle sends word to Xena about her new business venture and she and Joxer head to the theater to begin casting.

Meanwhile, Zehra and Milo individually approach the warlords Cleon and Therax and convince each of them to invest large sums of money in Gabrielle's play. Knowing that the play will be a failure on its first night, Zehra plans on taking the money and leaving town. Gabrielle would be blamed for the loss and would have to fend off the angry warlords. Back at the theater, the cast grows restless.

They are bored with the material and everyone, including Joxer, tries to get Gabrielle to add more blood, guts and glory to her vision. Gabrielle does not want to compromise her artistic integrity, but becomes so overwhelmed with the cast's pleas she goes to seek advice from the great Sophocles, who has a play opening the same night.

Gabrielle is stunned when she enters the theater and sees the stage full of sex and violence. She convinces herself that if the great Sophocles can produce such material, so can she. Gabrielle rushes back to the theater with a new vision in mind.

Later, as Gabrielle and the cast change the play, two of the warlords sneak into the theater. Engrossed by the violence, they like what they see. Zehra also sneaks into the theater, sees the warlords in hiding, and is shocked at the new violent version of the play. Realizing that the new version of the play will be a hit, Zehra convinces Gabrielle to go back to her original vision of peace. Later that night, Gabrielle's play opens to a sell-out crowd and people start to leave almost immediately. Enraged with the thought of losing their money, the warlords rush the stage.

Suddenly, Xena emerges from backstage and fights the warlords. While Xena and Gabrielle battle the warlords, Zehra and Milo attend to exit the theater. Gabrielle yells for the audience to become involved with "the play" and they stop the two scam artists. Xena retrieves the warlords' money and convinces them to donate the funds to the local orphanage. Meanwhile, an unreformed Zehra attempts to con some of the actors into letting her represent them. Minya and Paulina become fast friends. Minya tells Gabrielle that she has learned that deep down she's a .... thespian. Joxer is left hanging upside down in the theater.

Disclaimer
Although no great literary works of art were harmed or plagiarised, a few thespians stole some scenes during the production of this motion picture

Background Information

 * Peter Muller previously played Deric, another Centaur, who appeared in "As Darkness Falls", "Outcast" and "The Wedding of Alcmene" on HTLJ. (The first two episodes listed are also noteworthy for featuring Lucy Lawless as Lyla, Deric's wife.)
 * Lucy Lawless only appears at the beginning and end of this episode. This is called a "Xena-Lite" episode.
 * Polly Baigent, who plays Xena in Gabrielle's play, was one of Lucy's body doubles on the show. And Tammy Barker, the girl who auditions for the part of Gabrielle, was one of Renee's body doubles.
 * Jennifer Ward-Lealand (who's married to actor Michael Hurst, of Hercules fame) has been previously seen on XWP as Boadicea in "The Deliverer". She also appeared in the HTLJ ep "All That Glitters" as Voluptua.
 * The name of the character Dustinus Hoofmanus, is a 'Greek-a-fied' version of the famous actor, Dustin Hoffman.

Guest Stars

 * Ted Raimi as Joxer
 * Peter Muller as Dustinus Hoofmanus
 * Jennifer Ward-Lealand as Zehra
 * Alison Wall as Minya

People

 * Xena
 * Gabrielle
 * Joxer
 * Minya
 * Zehra
 * Argo

Places

 * Greece