School of Drama’s The Misanthrope gives high society the finger

The UW School of Drama’s production of Moliere’s The Misanthrope finds an elegant balance between true farce and outright social satire. On the one hand, the play is a great comedy; on the other, it’s a lithe commentary on the social ladder and the dishonest things we do to climb it.

Director Andrew Tsao keeps the play light without traveling down the road of slapstick, although he does veer into the occasional random dance number. The laughs are there, but occasionally the comedy comes off as not quite laugh-out-loud funny.

Nonetheless, the show is highly entertaining. The theme is captivating, and the lead characters feel very complete.

The character Alceste (Aaron Blakely) has taken a stance against the trivialities, formalities and banalities of society. In the first scene of the play, he vows to say what he feels to everyone around him, especially those not ready to hear it. It’s an honorable undertaking, indeed, but not without its hang-ups.

Blakely is utterly irresistible as an Alceste who is insatiable, neurotic and embittered, yet nonetheless oozing with charm. Alceste is a live-wire, crackling with wit and fervor.

Alceste’s foil, the lovely Célimène (Jennefer Ludwigsen), really loves him, but she is pathologically addicted to being in good favor with her social hangers-on; thus she struggles with Alcest’s reckless rejection of what is essentially her entire world. Ludwigsen exemplifies the perfect mix of playful seduction and cunning. Her chemistry with Blakely could be the play’s best feature.

The mix of socialites that make up Célimène’s court are wonderfully entertaining. Wesley Ziegler’s huffy and pretentious Oronte is perfectly detestable.

The play is set in the salon of a Parisian manor. Red marble floors and ornate furnishings set the tone of high society without explicitly dating the production. It really isn’t crucial, seeing as Moliere’s satire can apply with equal tenacity whether set in modern day or the part.

The script is Ranjit Bolt’s modern translation of the original French into rhyming couplets. It takes a moment to get used to, but it ultimately lends for a highly dynamic, active dialogue. Rhyming scripts are tricky, but all of the actors do well to make it sound and feel effortless. And where the rhyme does stick out, it only adds to the already steaming air of high society.

This is a play that you’ll love to watch. You may not be cracking up left and right, but you won’t need to be in order to enjoy it. A lesser farce than Moliere’s more famous plays (Tartuffe, namely) ,The Misantrhope is no less cynical and witty.