| School for Wives a timeless lesson in comedy |
| Written by John Watters | |
| Cotuit Center offers frolicsome farce
In its third season, the amazing Shakespeare on the Cape troupe continues to entertain audiences from one end of the peninsula to the other. Under the impeccable direction of Eric Powell Holm, SOTC is a high-energy theatrical hybrid – part Saturday Night Live, part Firesign Theater, part Monty Python – all melded together to bring their own touch to the classics in a thoroughly modern irreverent way.
The group, mostly made up of alumni of the University of Minnesota’s Guthrie Theater, is a sheer joy to watch. The company comprised of twenty-somethings has incredible talent and energy, each giving their characters a delightfully unique prospective. Together the company works seamlessly; not only with quality acting, but also providing their own musical interludes and sound effects from their stageside seats. The result is madcap mayhem that leaves the audience holding their sides in laughter.
School For Wives, written by Moliere in 1662, is a witty farce in verse which at times sounds like an adult version of Dr. Seuss. The ribald nature of the play particularly offended the Church and served as the lightning rod to Moliere’s career, attracting huge favor from some and not so much with others.
It is the story of a middle-aged man, Arnolphe, who has financially supported and groomed a young girl named Agnes, so that he may marry her. Of course as luck would have it once she moves into Arnolphe’s house she meets Horace, who falls in love with her and her with him. Horace, not realizing that Arnolphe is really the “other” man she is intended for, confides his feeling about her to Arnolphe, who then plots to out-maneuver him to gain Agnes’ love. With twists, turns, and countless switchbacks this Moliere’s masterpiece remains as fresh today as it was four centuries ago.
Elliot Eustis’s performance as Arnolphe is a tour de force. With nearly 50 percent of the dialog in the play his, he flawlessly carries the heavy load with aplomb.
As Agnes, Benjamin Griessmeyer is a show-stopping riot. Playing the ingénue in drag, his teenage girl nuances, and upper register voice can’t help but make you laugh. Daniel Jiminez as Horace is also very funny as Agnes’s suitor. Both these young actors have great command of their craft.
The remainder of the cast – Ariel Dumas, Jake Ford, Amanda Fuller, and Whitney Hudson – are all equal to the task of their characters, each looking like they are having fun on stage.
In fact, this is what makes this production work so well. Each and every actor is enjoying his or her time in the limelight so much that the infectiousness of their joy carries over to those watching the play. That is when theater is at its best.
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If you have a preconceived notion that a 400-year-old French play might be a little musty, or perhaps a bit too highbrow for your taste, then by all means catch Moliere’s School For Wives on July 22 and 29, at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, as it will surely prove you wrong.
[The SOTC Blog] 