Very few imagine a dazzling, romantic city such as Paris to be a place where outlandish farce is lavish and sorrow is abundant. But from the moment the curtain speech of The Miser by Molière begins and a strange-looking, gangly creature simultaneously crawls about the stage, the audience knows they are in for a quirky, eccentric work of French theatre.
Directed by professor of theatre Jim Crawford and performed by thirteen SMU M.F.A. and B.F.A. theatre students, the play took place at the Greer Garson Theatre in Owen Arts Center last weekend.
Set in Paris, The Miser is based on a 1668 five-act satirical comedy L’Avare by French playwright Molière. Translated and adapted in English by James Magruder and retitled The Miser, the story is centered around a selfish rich geezer, Harpagon (M.F.A. student Teddy Spencer). He is unfortunately and relentlessly paranoid and suspicious that his servants and even his own children will rob him of his riches.
Harpagon’s children Cléante (B.F.A. junior Tyler Crim) and Élise (B.F.A. senior Victoria Nassif) yearn to move away from their father and his penny-pinching ways to be with their respective lovers, Mariane (B.F.A. senior Elizabeth Miller) and Valere (B.F.A. junior Derick Rodgers).
Unfortunately for Cléante, Harpagon is also set out to marry Mariane, which makes for a twisted plot line and several complicated series of events.
Through unique encounters, fun surprises and even cross-dressing, the play takes the audience on a rather unusual, unexpected journey from start to finish.
The farcical moments in the play are cleverly contrasted with the tragedy of Harpagon and his life.
Crawford quotes French writer Nicolas Chamfort in his director’s notes in the program, “Paris: a city of pleasures and amusements where four-fifths of the people die of grief.” Although The Miser represents the hilarity in the lifestyles of its characters, the play also demonstrates the inner sorrow in the life of Harpagon, a greedy man only motivated by his own personal monetary desires.
However, just when the plot starts to get the slightest bit serious, a nonsensical cameo is made by one of the actors, creating comic relief that farces are rich with.
Molière is famous for his comedic asides during shows and The Miser certainly did not disappoint in this regard. Harpagon spoke to the audience on several occasions throughout the play.
However, unlike other Elizabethan era comedies in which the other actors onstage ignore the asides, some of the characters in The Miser actually respond to Harpagon’s asides in the scenes. In fact, the lights do not even dim or change during these asides, contrary to expectation. Instead, Harpagon merely runs to the front of the stage, speaks his aside briefly to the audience and then immediately runs back to his original spot.
The slightly out-of-context singing in French in the play is a slight disappointment, as the musical vignettes seem to provide little action or purpose to the scenes.
Anchoring the production at large is Spencer, who is believable and comical as Harpagon. Through each one of his scenes, the audience learns more about Harpagon’s unfortunate nature, as Spencer portrays both the necessary silliness and sadness in his role with heart.
Nassif provides a strong presence as Harpagon’s daughter, who, more than anything in the world, wants to marry her lover, Valere, although he is not particularly wealthy and she knows that would upset her father.
Other standouts are Crim as the defiant, blue-haired Cléante, B.F.A. senior Katherine Bourne as Harpagon’s feisty cook and coachman Jacqueline, and M.F.A. student Tiffany Hobbs as matchmaker Frosine.
The rest of the cast includes: B.F.A. students Isaac McGinley as La Fleche, Elizabeth Arroyo as the Commissioner, Janielle Kastner as Simone, Ted Gwara as Anselme, Piper Werle as Brindavoine, and Brady Stebleton as La Merluche.
Through a journey of love, greed, traditional theatrical conventions, obscure French comical references, and plenty of gags, The Miser is an out of the ordinary gem.
