French dramatist and actor Moliere wrote plays the way he lived - with intensity. In 1675, in the midst of a stage performance, he popped a blood vessel in a fit of coughing and died shortly thereafter.
The French ideas of irony and corruption in Moliere's "The Misanthrope" comically uncover a world corrupted by insincerity, shallowness and hypocrisy.
Under the direction of UB Theater lecturer Fortunato Pezzimenti, the Irish Classical Theatre Company presents "The Misanthrope" at the Andrews Theater through Feb. 15. Richard Wilbur translates the text from the original French rhymed couplet.
Alceste, played by Mike Shara, is a love-struck and outspoken man who alienates himself from the injustices of a corrupt society. By disgustedly ranting and raving about mankind's faults, he does not see the irony that lies before him.
Blinded with infatuation, his love for the conniving beauty Celimene, played by Leah Russo, makes it impossible for him to see that his love is for a woman who is the epitome of all he despises.
Celimene plays with Alceste's emotions and patience, avoiding the truths of her flirtatious nature with the other townsmen. Misleading them into thinking she has feelings for them eventually catches up with her.
As Alceste tries to fight the obvious faults of Celimene, he also tries fight off the swarms of men around her. With a sexual and elegant nature, her womanly eloquence attracts the arrogant and sophisticated Acaste.
The performance of Acaste, played by Robert Petrarca, a recent graduate of UB's Department of Theatre and Dance, was worthy of note.
Comical and witty performances like Petrarca's keep this melodrama afloat. Adorned in a blonde wig, walking stick and a dashing suit from the 1920s, his demonic laugh echoed his backstabbing nature.
Kelly Meg Brennan won over the evening's sparse crowd with her portrayal of Arsinoe, a gossiping friend of Celimene's. Clothed in a yellow and black dress and topped off by a hat with a dancing feather, Arsinoe had a know-it-all disposition to match the smirk on her neatly painted face.
Using her powerful voice as a tool - speaking in a low pitch and then suddenly a high one - to reveal Celmene's misleading and promiscuous ways, Brennan's performance was believable and unpredictable.
From apparent rehearsal and practice, Brennan and Russo's great timing made the argument between Celimene and Arsinoe the best scene in the two-hour play.
In addition to emphasizing the strong actors and characters, Pezzimenti effectively uses the intimateness of the Andrews' centered square stage. The writing and dialogue of "The Misanthrope" is witty and insightful, but clever characters portrayed by fine actors were the most powerful aspect of the play.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
