Another great review! ASTC takes on Moliere’s ‘Misanthrope’ Director Chenard adds unique spin on classic Review by Gerald M. Kane For the Las Cruces Bulletin It is quite unusual to have the opportunity to see two interpretations of the same play by two theater companies in the same theatre season in Las Cruces. This year, that is not the case. For theater aficionados, we have been presented with two very different and fascinating versions of the same classic play, with the same basic plot, but with two very different production spins and outcomes. The first version of Moliere’s classic “The Misanthrope,” made its appearance in October 2013, on the stage of the Las Cruces Community Theatre under the title “School for Lies.” Written in rhymed couplets, it featured a clever script – full of double entendres and Yiddish and popular slang that never would have crossed Moliere’s lips – by noted playwright David Ives. It was a fine, funny production, full of foppery, humor and well-played performances, most especially by its director Brandon Brown, who stepped into the leading role, along with Bob Diven, Britany Stout and Gail Wheeler. Quite a different take on the “The Misanthrope” is currently on view at the Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the campus of New Mexico State University through Sunday, May 4. This production’s script, also in rhymed couplets, is written by noted poet laureate and double Pulitzer Prize-winner for poetry Richard Wilbur. I have a sense Wilbur stuck closer to the original French text. While the story elements of both scripts are basically the same, the directors’ takes and foci present us with a good deal to contemplate. Both productions feature “mash-up” elements. The LCCT production made use of an iPad, a cell phone and sneakers, mixed in with period costumes with abundant flounce from the Doña Ana Lyric Opera’s costume stash. The current American Southwest Theatre Company (ASTC) production features freshly made stylized costumes in bright, carnival-like colors and unique crepe paper “rolled” white wigs which give their own “flopsy mopsy” look to the show. Costume and wig designer Kaitlin Sikes and her hard-working crew truly outdid themselves, giving the costumes and wigs an amazing, almost carnival-like feel. Jim Billings’ period 1666 salon set is up to his usual sterling standards, which are jam packed with hidden unexpected surprises which reveal themselves at play’s end. I am pleased to report that articulation and sound issues which have plagued some works performed on the stage of the Medoff seem to have been mastered. Profuse background notes by professor William Strong of NMSU’s Theatre Arts Department place the play and playwright in proper historical context, but a more revealing point of view is presented in director Josh Chenard’s notes. Chenard seems to have been inspired by his summers working at an amusement park on the coast of Maine. This carnival-like atmosphere seems to have infused itself into his interpretation of Moliere’s 1866 plot about Alceste, an individual who finds no satisfaction dealing with people in general, disillusioned by his love interest Celimene and the affected folks who populate his immediate environment. Directors are given artistic license to put their own “spin” on the classics. The addition of an unscripted prelude and postlude truly bring some surprise and splash to the show. The cast enters holding large picture frames to show off their costumes and personalities. They do so at show’s end to take their well-deserved bows. Kudos to the cast for their mastery of the text, extending and not forcing the rhyme at the end of each line. This allows for proper emphasis to make understanding the text easier on the audience. In the leading roles of Alceste and Celimene, Joshua Horton and Ellen Streipeke run the gamut of emotional range in their well- directed portrayals. Lindsey Porter, as the gossipy Arsinoe and plot spoiler, gives us a sense she bathed in arsenic before making her acerbic entrance. I am compelled to single out and applaud one cast member with hardly any spoken lines, who, if given permission would chew up all the scenery on stage, and who gives a much needed sense of humor to all the verbiage coming from the mouths of the other characters. Stephanie Vasquez plays Basque, a house maid. Hers is not a role in the original Moliere text, but Chenard saw the value of adding a silent maid to the mix to add a dash of comic relief wherever and whenever she could. Brava, Stephanie. We look forward to seeing much more of you on the ASTC stage. In sum, this is a delightful performance, well worthy of your attention. The American Southwest Theatre Company schedule for the 2014-15 season has been announced. One highlight for me is a production of the Tony Award-winning musical “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” “The Misanthrope” runs through Sunday, May 4, in the Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre at the Center for the Arts on the NMSU campus. Tickets are $10 to $17 and available at the Center for the Arts Box office from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, through Ticketmaster or by calling 646-4515 or 646-1420. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. For more information, including videos about the process of creating the production, visit nmsutheatre. Gerald Kane has reviewed theater, film and opera for NPR stations and newspapers in New Orleans, Phoenix and Kansas City, as well as for the Las Cruces Bulletin for the past 11 years. A former member of the American Theatre Critics Association, he has taught “Jews on Screen” at NMSU. He is the Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth-El in Las Cruces.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 14:46:27 +0000
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