This week, the Mississippi State communication department presents “The Imaginary Invalid.” The play was written in 1672 by MoliZre when he was dying of a chronic pulmonary infection. With a violent, persistent cough that kept him from sleeping, MoliZre wrote the play as a means to turn his tragedy and his scorn for doctors into a comedy.
In “Invalid,” the avalanche of follies snowballs when Argan (the invalid) tries to persuade his daughter to marry a doctor so that he (a hypochondriac who stays seated on a toilet throughout the play) can have a doctor by his side at all times.
According to director Jo Durst, directing a farce can be quite challenging.
“They (farces) are so much harder than any other form of drama,” Jo said. “The movement is more complicated; the characters are one-dimensional in that they are simplified, usually having one attribute and wearing just one mask. No two characters ever wear the same mask.”
The masks Durst speaks of refer to the image people try to present in order to shield their identities.
“We recognize them so well because we either see ourselves or someone else in the masks,” Jo said.
Wearing the masks will be the play’s large cast which includes Gabe Smith as Argan, Deanna Dye as Beline, Melissa Fenwick as Toinette, James Eison as Cleante, Vaughan Shearer as Angelique, Marcus Daniels as Bonnefoy, Kristen Hall as Louison, Jon Noble as Beralde, Matthew Webb as M. Diaforius, Jeff Durst as Thomas D., James Comans as M. Fleurant and Chris Tyer as M. Purgon. Assistant directors are Amanda Lopez and Brandon Morris with stage management by Robert Garrard.
“Doing a farce is often more difficult than drama because it is necessary to maintain the same levels of believability as other shows,” Webb said. “You can’t play the humor and can’t hold the audience by the hand. You have to rely on the hilarity of the world you’ve created and the play you’ve chosen. It’s tough.”
The play also includes a second cast for interludes that interlope between the acts with a live score by Joe Evans.
“I’m just glad I don’t have to sing,” Webb said. “The score is pretty neat, and Joe (Evans) is great.”
While the nuances of a 17th century French farce make for a daunting task, designing the set was not as complicated for Wayne Durst. His set design consists of the room where Argan’s health problems render him immobile.
“A lot of MoliZre’s comedies are of the comedia, which was traditionally a lot more actor-oriented than it was scenery-oriented,” Wayne said. “And since this is kind of a neo-classical period, what I’m trying to do is just to bring in some neo-classical elements and scenery juxtaposed with some comedia elements to make it look basically like someplace where this would happen naturally.”
While the dialog may still reflect its neo-classical origins, the costumes have been given the Baz Luhrmann (director of “Moulin Rouge” and “William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet”) treatment.
“We modernized the costumes to keep it from being too confusing,” Jo said. “We want the audience to be able to relate to it.”
For costume designer Holly Ashcom, updating costumes for characters designed 330 years ago is not as far-fetched as it may seem.
“It is a challenge when we’re trying to keep the spirit of the original style and translate it to modern clothing,” Ashcom said. “But in a lot of ways, the characters are stereotypes that still carry through to the 21st century like the evil stepmother, the young lover and the doctor who’s taking everyone out of their money.”
“The Imaginary Invalid” starts at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17, 18 and 19. Admission prices are $5 for students, faculty, children and senior citizens and $10 for the general public. For more information, call Jo Durst at 325-3203.