Molière's The Misanthrope is regarded as a masterpiece and the recent Tulane production was an honorable attempt at presenting the play. The adaptation preserved the original conflicts and plot twists, while adding a modern veneer so as not to alienate the audience. The content of the play, the manner in which the actors presented their lines and played their characters, and the set (which stole several scenes) combined to make the evening a thought-provoking and entertaining one.
The bare stage that initially greets the audience had a few enigmatic components. A bar, a Soloflex machine, hip music playing in the background, and the general 'rich' feeling permeating the apartment implied that it was that of a comfortably wealthy person living in the current day. Any doubts about what was in the back of the stage were dispelled when Alceste walked out of the cleverly designed elevator. When he disgustedly threw around his bag and wearily fell down in the chair it became clear that he was an angst ridden young man.
The entry of Philinte marked the beginning of the 'verbal exposition.' From his conversation with Philinte we learn that they are in Hollywood, that Alceste is an author of some type, and that there are love interests in the guises of Celimene and Eliante. To complete our knowledge of the antecedent action, the party going on and the fact that the apartment on stage is Celimene's are also mentioned.
The first scene also contains a little foreshadowing in a classic situation of unstable equilibrium. Alceste expounds on his distaste for hypocrisy and etiquette and all those who commit such deeds while remarking himself on the absurdity of his being in love with the ultimate kiss-up. Meanwhile, Philinte is commenting on Eliante and her perceived affection for Alceste. The stage is set for a conflict between Alceste and the society in which he lives and the audience has been prepared for the conflict between what Alceste would like to do and how he ultimately acts. A little reflection might also lead one to the conclusion that when Philinte says he would be more than willing to court Eliante he may very well do so.
Superficially, The Misanthrope is about the conflict between a man and his ideals and society and its harsh reality. But at a slightly deeper level it explores the internal conflict between how individuals would like to behave and how they actually live. This becomes obvious during the scene in which Oronte presents his sonnet. It is then that the audience discovers that Alceste will try to live up to his ideals, but his doing so will result in more than a few problems. We are upon the slippery slope, and are stuck in our seats waiting to see where we will next slide.
Alceste is searching for integrity. Time and time again he pleads for people to say what they mean and mean what they say. This attitude takes Oronte by surprise and results in his issuing a vendetta against Alceste when the writer pans (okay, devastates) his sonnet. Alceste berates Celimene for pandering to the in crowd and prostituting art for the sake of success. Yet just as with Oronte, Alceste does not find a very receptive audience.
But Moliere correctly realized that any struggle against society by a member of that society can easily result in an internal struggle within that very member. These are not two separate conflicts, but different facets resulting from the broad nature of the conflict between ideals and practicalities. Throughout the play, Celimene, Philinte, and others all quiz Alceste on how he can love Celimene but despise her essential character. And there are several scenes where Alceste spends the entire time asking himself that same question.
This two and a half hour production was littered with complications and plot twists. The introduction of Arsinoe towards the middle of the play, Philinte and Eliante's professions of love for each other, and the camaraderie cum conspiracy between Acaste and Clitandre all provided a temporary diversion from the plight of Alceste. But at the same time, none of these complications appear to be mere attachments. They are all necessary for the play to progress.
Philinte and Eliante's agreement to marry throws a wrench into at least one scenario the audience was foreseeing. Their engagement means that she will reject Alceste when he comes to her after ending his courtship of Celimene. The introduction of Arsinoe around the middle of the play presents the audience with an antagonist for Celimene -- a new element in a play that had focused elsewhere. Yet this new complication is immediately brought to bare on the major theme when Arsinoe unites Celimene's suitors, Acaste and Clitandre, in an attempt to discredit her rival.
The crises in the play come to a head in the last scene (amazingly enough, this is approximately 19 lines from the end of the original). Winners and losers are difficult to name. It is much easier to characterize the characters as winners (Eliante, Philinte, Arsinoe) and losers (Celimene) than it is to determine the victor in the two conflicts. Society wins the struggle it waged against Alceste's idealism because Alceste is fleeing to the dessert to live in isolation from society, without even the woman he thought he loved and who may have loved him, because he can not survive in society unless he compromises his ideals. His fleeing signifies, however, that internally his idealism emerged victorious. If he can not live the way he thinks he should in society, then he will step back. But the fact that Alceste is not willing to compromise his ideals and the extremes to which he seems to be going at the conclusion of the play indicate that internally, ideals won.
In general, all of the above was presented very well at this production. The major non-actor components of the play were the rhyming of the lines, the set, and the direction of the actors. All were at least adequate.
I already described the basic contents of the set and how it helped set the mood for the play. Unlike in Nora , the set was not very symbolic. There was no attempt at using components of the set to reflect concepts or characters, unless you are willing to regard the use of a SOLOflex machine as somehow misanthropic. But the set was still nicely done. The elevator, the lighting, the bar -- virtually all the elements of the set -- were extremely lifelike. For the first time in a while I could have believed the set of the play was actually a cutaway view of a penthouse.
However, the night I saw the play there were some problems with the set. The phone didn't always ring, the lights didn't always go on, and the elevator rarely worked. And Philinte broke a glass at the bar. Each time something went wrong the audience could see the actors briefly fall out of character and then struggle to get back in character. Although excusable considering the extent of what was failing, this was still a little disruptive. I imagine that audience reaction was a factor here though, because the audience would annoyingly laugh or applaud each time something went wrong.
This production maintained the rhyme scheme of the original version. I don't really know if this added to or detracted from the play. I tend to view it as merely another aspect, neither positive nor negative. However, maintaining the rhymes involved playing with English and stretching some of the dialogue beyond credibility. For the most part however, this did not happened and I can not even recall any specific occasion when it did happen (I know that it did, I just can't remember when).
Finally, I think the direction of the play was excellent. Celimene's scenes on the couch were amazing, vividly portraying through her positioning and behavior her current mood. The dramatic entries and exits of the various characters throughout the play were also well done. And everything from Alceste's haggard look to his propensity being isolated -- even on a full stage -- all shouted 'MISANTHROPE.'
The meaning of The Misanthrope is that the best an individual can hope to accomplish when struggling for a set of ideals is to affect a change is his or her way of life because no individual will be able to dissuade society from its practical ways. But despite this somewhat pessimistic theme, I left the play happy -- especially considering the last play I had watched at Tulane. It was excellently acted and directed, allowing Moliere's play itself to shine.