Jean Anouilh's Ring Around the Moon first appeared in France in 1947 where it was and still is entitled, L 'Invitation au Chateau. The play is especially important because it marked a transition between Anouilh's pieces roses, plays in which characters escape dark conditions through fantasy, illusion, and change of personality, to Anouilh's pieces brillantes, a more mixed group of four plays with brilliantes referring to polished and sophisticated gemlike pieces. The first two plays of the pieces brillantes, which include Ring Around the Moon, were lighter plays closer to their "pink" precursors. The latter two plays were more ponderous, weighed down by gritty reality.

In Jean Anouilh, Alba della Fazia called Ring Around the Moon a "pleasantly jumbled fairy tale" and selects Isabelle as the play's heroine, primarily for her rejection of money and her understanding of when to end her part in the charade. In...