As Sharon Bajer and I traded travel stories from the world over while at LIBLAB in Toronto, far from both our homes at the time, we mused about foreign-language misunderstandings and circled around the idea of a shared word or two that could make all the difference. The playfully mistranslated tango seduction of He and She in a far-flung locale was born.

The actual lyrics of the scene are primarily in mistaken English, while the fluent intended meaning is acted unspoken, or in some performances projected overhead in supertitles or held up on cue cards for the audience. The intended meanings are printed above the libretto lines in parentheses in the score. She sings, “I need to pass out… on the train station,” meaning "I am looking for the train station." He sings, “I don’t have fish in my pants” when he intends to say, “I don’t mean to put my foot in my mouth.” Whether we know exactly what the characters are thinking by reading their intent, or we’re left to puzzle it out, comedy ensues.

- Elisabeth Mehl Greene