Moli?re’s “The Imaginary Invalid” may have been written in 1673, but its humor still resonates in today’s society. According to Charlie Bauer, a member of the University Theatre’s upcoming production who plays the hypochondriac Argan, Moli?re, is not all that different from Mel Brooks. And when you consider the dialogue between the characters, you’ll find it’s not that much of a stretch from “The Office.”
In the play, Argan, who is fed up with high costs of health care, attempts to arrange a marriage between his unwilling daughter and a young doctor to receive free heath care for the rest of his life from his potential son-in-law. The play functions as a satire on the health care debate in 17th century France, but today’s audiences will also identify with Agran’s personal health care crisis.
According to Bauer, the play is not being approached in way that it is a political commentary on health care but rather a satire on our approach to issues like this one.
“There is something so funny about watching these news programs where people are just screaming at each other and getting up in arms about discussion,” Bauer said. “Personally, I think it’s dangerous when we can’t talk about an issue.”
To make the play more accessible and bridge the gap between the 336 years since the time it was written, the University Theatre is taking an interesting approach based on the idea of “steampunk.”
Steampunk is the concept of combining two distant eras and drawing on features of both for costume and set considerations. Originally, steampunk referred to the combination of the English Victorian (where steam was a major source of power) with a more contemporary one.
“Our ‘Imaginary Invalid’ is more of a Baroque-punk or Restoration-punk. The costumes are mostly 17th century with an attitude, and with little bits and pieces of the 18th and 19th centuries mixed in,” costume designer Rachel Barnett said.
For those who are already familiar with the story of “Imaginary Invalid,” the steampunk approach breathes new life into this production to guarantee a fresh experience. Generally, the characters and plot will remain unchanged, but University Theatre has applied much of its own creativity in this production to not only make it more accessible to audiences today but also to personalize it.
UW doctorate student Arrie Callahan has completely reworked the script based on the original French one.
“By working with Arrie on a new translation we are able to look more carefully at Moli?re’s original words and intentions in context with our own time, place and circumstances,” director Patricia Boyette said.
It is apparent the University Theatre put a lot of thought into rejuvenating this more than 300-year-old production to make it relatable to today’s audience.
The Imaginary Invalid opens on Friday, Oct. 23 with the first show at 7:30 p.m. and runs until Nov. 7. Performances are in the Mitchell Theatre located at 821 University Ave. Tickets for all performances are $20 and can be ordered online at the University Theatre’s website, www.utmadison.com.