Likable ‘Misanthrope’ Said Another Way

It has been more than 40 years since Richard Wilbur’s rhymed translation of “The Misanthrope” became known, deservedly, as the best rendering of Moliere’s 17th century comedy in American English.

Now UC Irvine drama professor Robert Cohen has directed a refreshing, lunatic production of the play with UCI graduate students, using his own highly entertaining translation. It is proof, among other things, that there is room for another equally fluent, stage-worthy version of Moliere’s rhymed couplets, but one with a 1990s flavor full of colloquial yet literate pungency.

The tone of this “Misanthrope”--both the production and the translation--is established at the start, when Alceste, angry at his friend Philinte, comes out sputtering:

“Dear friend?” You’re calling me a friend of yours?

Such friendship’s like the so-called love--of whores!

This morning, sir, our friendship was destroyed

When you pretended to be overjoyed.

Now compare the urgency of that rendering with Wilbur’s:

Friends, you say? Well, cross me off your list

I’ve been your friend till now, as you well know;

But after what I saw a moment ago

I tell you flatly that our ways must part

I wish no place in a dishonest heart.

I’ll go with Cohen, even if Wilbur is more faithful to the original rhyme scheme.

Meanwhile, Philinte (Alan Mingo Jr.) looks, in his electric costume of royal blue velvet, like Eddie Murphy doing Little Richard. It’s an early signal that if the rest of the cast is anything close to him, we can expect a parade of hilarious fops.

And here too the production does not disappoint. Costume designer John Patton has created a brilliant array of overdone ensembles, not only colorful but color-coded, as if challenging the players to live up to the outfits with outrageous performances.

Although the misanthropic Alceste is of course dressed in mere black and white, Chris DuVal delivers such a hopped-up portrayal of self-righteous apoplexy that he more than compensates for his relatively drab ruffles with a livid redness of face that needs no powdered makeup.

As Oronte, Alceste’s chief rival for the hand of the courtesan Celimene, Michael Holmes fills out his vest of gold brocade and purple lapels with elaborate comic precision, a simpering poet who confronts Alceste’s contumely with deep bows of patronizing splendor.

In smaller but captivating roles, Damon Kupper offers a wonderful, twittering performance as Clitandre, gotten up in pea-green hues, and Jeff Renard as Acaste--in his red Bermudas and boots--is the classic bachelor on the prowl, draping himself like a Slinky over anyone and anything he sidles up to.

If the kissy-hissy atmosphere of the production tends to overwhelm the thematic core of Moliere’s satire about a society of sycophants, it’s partly because Cohen has directed the piece for laughs and spectacle, the big gesture rather than the subtle nuance.

But given the talent in the house, the men particularly, he made the right choice. He could have done a lot worse and forced the cast to bore us to death in small increments of scholastic correctness.

Still, he might have reined in DuVal somewhat. Though a resourceful actor, DuVal had a tendency on opening night to rant in the first act. By the second act, DuVal did begin to modulate the level of his performance instead of maintaining a constant pitch.

The change helped relieve a certain monotony that had begun to creep up on the show as a whole, including the occasional predictability of the rhymes, once the keynotes were revealed.

The women’s roles, admittedly weaker than the men’s in the original, also could have used some tweaking.

As Celimene, Laura Standley offers an especially pallid depiction of a courtesan, which makes you wonder why she’s so much in demand. The gold lame of her gown outshines her. Susanna Morrow gives an animated portrait of Arisnoe, and Andrea Odinov is natural and attractive as Eliante.

Would it be stretching things too far to say this was a pink panther of a “Misanthrope”? The set design and the incidental music--both very much in the Blake Edwards style--put me in mind of the metaphor; and the more I think of it, the more appropriate it seems.

*

* “The Misanthrope,” UC Irvine Concert Hall, Bridge and Mesa roads, on the UC Irvine campus. Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m. Ends Saturday. $6-$15. (714) 824-2787. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes.

Chris DuVal: Alceste

Alan Mingo Jr.: Philinte

Michael Holmes: Oronte

Laura Standley: Celimene

Will Peters: Basque

Andrea Odinov: Eliante

Damon Kupper: Clitandre

Jeff Renard: Acaste

Jonathan Parlow: Guard

Susanna Morrow: Arsinoe

Jeffrey Blivens: Du Bois

A Drama at UCI production of a play by Moliere. Director and translator: Robert Cohen. Scenic design: Ilana Radin. Costume design: John Patton. Lighting design: Shelly Callahan. Composer: Alan Terricciano. Stage manager: Kanchan A. Mattoo.