In this year’s Cappies competition, Paul VI is playing it for laughs with its presentation of “The Pink Panther Strikes Again.” The curtain rises Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, Nov. 13-14, at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $5, students and senior citizens, and $10, adults, at the door or via PVIProducers@yahoo.com, or contact Director Katherine Miller at 703-352-0925, ext. 524. The cast and crew of 35 have been rehearsing since September, and the show includes live music — and it’s all thanks to student Alexandra Dent.

“She begged me all summer to read this play,” said Miller. “When I did, I thought it was the dumbest thing I’d ever read, but also the funniest. The auditions were hilarious. All the actors do some improvising, and some of the best stuff they’re doing is stuff they made up.”

“There’s also a lot of physicality, so we hired a stage-combat choreographer because, although there’s cartoony, slapstick violence, we don’t want anybody getting hurt,” continued Miller. “And German teacher, Frau Audrey Joyner, will play the accordion during the Oktoberfest scene.”

In the story, French police inspector Jacques Clouseau is such a bumbling idiot that he’s driven his boss, Dreyfus, mad. When Dreyfus tries taking over the world, Clouseau must stop him.

“The audience will absolutely love it,” said Miller. “It has no redeeming social content, whatever. It’s just a really good time.”

The major roles are double cast, with junior Tommy Hodge and senior Christophe Perdu sharing the role of Clouseau. “He’s a clumsy, socially awkward man,” said Hodge. “Whenever he comes up with ideas and solutions to problems, he thinks they’re amazing, when, in reality, a 5-year-old could come up with them. And with women, he thinks he’s a romantic, but he’s not.”

Hodge is having such fun playing Clouseau that, often, he said, “I have a hard time keeping a straight face because of his idiocy and interactions with other characters. For example, Dreyfus makes it clear that he hates Clouseau and wants him dead, but Clouseau thinks Dreyfus likes him and they’re friends.” Actually, said Hodge, “Even the tiny roles are funny.”

Although Clouseau acts confident, he’s not too bright. “He works hard but, whenever he accomplishes something, it’s really by luck,” said Perdu. He must speak with an accent and incorporate Clouseau’s grammatical mistakes and mispronunciations, but he’s thrilled with his part.

“It’s my first play, and I’m actually French, so it’s fun to joke about my culture and give my own perspective on how I think he’d act,” said Perdu. “I’m also clumsy and goofy like he is, and I get to be silly on stage.”

Portraying Dreyfus are junior Jake Miller and senior Dent. “At the beginning, he comes off as rational and sane, but he’s putting on an act to get out of an insane asylum,” said Miller. “He’s really still completely nuts. It’s great playing him because you don’t have to worry about composure on stage — you can just let go. It opens up all kinds of possibilities for funny movements, actions and ways of speaking.”

Miller said the audience would especially like the hunchback scene. “Dreyfus and Clouseau are both disguised as hunchbacks [unbeknownst to each other], and Dreyfus tries giving Clouseau a bomb,” he said. “I’ve seen it several times in rehearsal, and it still makes me laugh.”

Dent plays Dreyfus as a woman, which adds romantic tension to the role. “I’m supposed to be rehabilitated, and I’ve convinced myself Clouseau is no longer a problem to me,” she said. “But once he shows up again, I just crack. I’m a lunatic again and my mental state gradually deteriorates.”

It’s fun, said Dent, because “there are no boundaries to this character and I’m almost constantly yelling. I get to make ridiculous body movements and do kooky noises and eye twitching. I [portray] my bad guy with humor, so I’m very entertaining.” Dent said the story’s slapstick and dialogue would appeal to the audience. “There’s hardly a serious moment; it’s pure comedy, through and through, and everybody feels good after a comedy.”

Also featured is a female, Russian spy named Olga. Senior Meghan Shea plays this secret agent assigned to kill Clouseau. “But she falls in love with him and is torn whether to obey her orders or continue her romance,” said Shea. “Initially, she’s serious and professional, but she also has a goofy and loose side brought out by being around Clouseau.”

Shea said Olga’s accent and the stage combat are challenging. “I try to strangle Clouseau three times and do several kicks and punches, but try not to hurt him,” she said. But she’s enjoying herself because “the script lets the actors stretch their characters; there isn’t just one way to play them. The show also has lots of sight gags and many elements of Peter Sellers’ Clouseau, so avid fans of the Pink Panther movies will enjoy it.”