We've been in rehearsal for several weeks now, and it is coming along very well. The translation is in rhyming verse, and a lot of it is still in my head from when I worked on it seventeen years ago. I keep beating the stage management team to the punch when actors call for line, because I usually don't have to be looking at the script to know what the next line is.
Here are some thoughts I shared with the design team last spring as we prepared for the show. Some of this has changed.
At MSU directors are expected to develop a Premise statement about the play (at UMASS we used the similar term point-of-view).
Misanthrope
Director Statement
Premise: Unrealistic and imbalanced expectations lead to
rupture.
The Misanthrope is
a play about friendship and love in a world of absolute power enforced through
surveillance. The central premise is that unrealistic and imbalanced
expectations lead to rupture. Alceste pressures the worldly Célimène for a
romantic commitment in isolation from society. Likewise, Célimène’s expectation
that she can indefinitely string along five suitors ultimately blows up in her
face. But we also see this idea early in the play when Oronte pressures Alceste
to be his friend and to praise his poem, leading to a lawsuit between them.
Along with Clitandre and Acaste, Oronte has unrealistic expectations of
Célimène’s fidelity. In contrast, characters who know how to manage their
expectations come together in the end: Eliante settles for Philinte as a
secondary romantic interest, and it seems like they will be happy together.
The play is packed with ideas, often framed as opposites:
Truth vs. Lies, Honesty vs. Tact, Private Self vs. Public Self, Litigation vs.
Diplomacy, Privilege vs. Justice, Realism vs. Idealism. “Balance” works as a central image for this play, but characters’
approaches to balance might differ.
The play was originally written in 1666 during a period of
great productivity for Molière, which coincided with a tension in the
playwright’s relationships with his young wife Armande, with some members of
his theatre company, and with King Louis XIV. The King is an ever-present force
lurking behind the scenes of The
Misanthrope, and characters constantly talk about their possible influence
with the King.
Our production is set in/inspired by the 1750s, under King
Louis XV. Partly because this is a fun, sexy design period, and partly because the
language of the translation is a bit more modern. I have chosen Constance
Congdon’s translation because I’ve worked on it before, and I think it’s better
for actors than Richard Wilbur’s version because she doesn’t punch the rhymes
as much.
I say “set in/inspired by” because I’m open to the exercise
of period research and historical accuracy, or to making choices that use the
period a jumping-off point.
Setting
The whole play takes place in one room in Célimène’s house.
She is a wealthy widow, presumably having been married to a much older man. In
Act II it feels like a salon. So it’s a semi-public room in her house, where
she receives guests. (But Alceste and some others feel comfortable hanging out
there when she’s not around.) Probably she has redecorated after her husband’s
death, and it has more of a feminine touch. I like the idea of painting a
geometric design on the floor in the Arena, whether it’s a traditional parquet
floor, an eighteenth-century carpet, or something more whimsical.
Costumes and
Hair/Make-up
In terms of costumes, what’s most important for the story is
that there’s a continuum of fashion where Alceste and Arsinoé will be the most
conservative (note: Alceste has to have green ribbons); Philinte and Eliante
have a classy sense of chic; Célimène, Acaste, and Clitandre are very
fashion-forward; and Oronte is trying too hard. No one really needs more than
one costume, but it would be nice if Célimène could have some changes since
we’re in her house and she has access to her wardrobe, and she’s rich and cares
about fashion a lot. All the characters are very sure of themselves, confident,
decisive.
This eighteenth century is potentially really crazy for
wigs, but I’d rather not go too far. None of the women in this play would wear
a boat on their head. A lot of the crazier stuff is satirical, anyway. And the
1750s are much more restrained than the 1770s. Most characters should be
accessible and elegant. Alceste would probably not wear a wig, or might wear
the short “round wig” like Rousseau did, starting in 1751.
Lighting
This is a neoclassical comedy that takes place within 24
hours. I actually think it’s around 12 hours, with Acts 1-3 taking place
between lunch and dinner, and Acts 4-5 taking place later at night. So it will
be fun to play with time of day, probably natural lighting through windows for
the first half, and then imitating candlelight for the second half. Another
option is to play with mood and style. Act II is very theatrical, with
characters performing imitations of others; this style might return at the
beginning of Act IV when Philinte imitates Alceste, but then Act IV goes to a
much more intense place.
Sound
It would be great to have music between scenes. The
transitions won’t be too long, as there should be little need to move
furniture. The 1750s is the time of the Querelle des Bouffes (1752-1754), which
pitted Italian opera buffa (Pergolesi) against French tragic opera (Lully and
Rameau). Alceste would be on the traditional French side of that divide, and
Célimène would likely be more interested in the newer form. (In fact, the song
Alceste sings in Act I was written around 1550.) It would be fun to compose
some music in imitation of both sides and use these musical styles to mark when
Alceste is dominating vs. when Célimène is dominating.
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