Set in Florence, Italy, in 1524, Machiavelli is a comedy about the famous political thinker, Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote The Prince. The play is told in a farcical style based on Machiavellies own play, The Mandrake. When the Medicis take control of Florence, Machiavelli is imprisoned and tortured and faces certain death. Working with his politically savvy wife, Marietta Corsini, Machiavelli does all he can do to circumvent the fickle and dangerous Guliano de Medici and his brutal war-loving nephew, Lorenzo de Medici. Surviving political intrigue and exile, Machiavelli finds inspiration in writing The Prince by watching the behavior of the world-weary Florentine major. In the end, all of his political teachings come home to haunt him when his own teenage daughter falls in love with the very man Machiavelli considers his hated enemy. Unit set. Approximate running time: 90 minutes.