The Misanthrope
The official explanation for why Court Theatre paired The Misanthrope and Travesties for its spring repertory package is that artistic director Charles Newell wanted “two plays as different as possible that use the same number of actors,” a spokeswoman told me at last weekend’s marathon opening day. Still, several common elements link these two serious comedies–the first, by Moliere, dating from 1666, the second being Tom Stoppard’s 1993 rewrite of his 1974 hit. Both focus on the conflict between established society in all its hypocritical triviality and outsiders from that society–cultural exiles set apart, if not actually cast out, because of their radical visions of personal truth. And the plots of both plays hinge on petty, vindictive lawsuits filed against the protagonists mainly for purposes of harassment. This is rotating repertory for the age of tort reform.
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Most important for the purpose of evaluating this double-feature showcase of ensemble acting, both plays rely principally on language to make their effects. Movement and design are important, of course; but the key to unlocking the odd juxtapositions of satire, melancholy, and passion in The Misanthrope and Travesties is the ability to make long, idiosyncratic, often archaically phrased speeches convey fresh and distinctive insights into the characters’ psychology and the playwrights’ expression of strongly held, intensely conflicting ideas.
