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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1983)
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I 3th & Lawrence Street 683 1300 Hours: Mon-Thurs 10-6 Frl & Sat 10 9 Emerald Photo Robert Baron and Melanie Leslie, the two leads in the University Theatre’s production of 'The Misanthrope, ’’ turn in nearly flawless performances. Modern setting adds twist to this 17th Century satire By Jonathan Siegle Of tfx Emerald Were Moliere alive today to see the University Theater production of “The Misan thrope,” his 17th century satire of courtly manners, he might at times be pleasantly surprised or angered, but in the end he’d most likely be perplexed. Director Stephan Yarian has costumed his characters in modern dress and placed them in a plain modern set. Although looking contem porary, the cast is required to speak unchanged Moliere’s lovely but archaic poetry. Most of the actors overcome their discomfort with the lines, but their ef forts show Moliere himself was a life long actor. He would, quite rightly, be very pleased with the acting of the central characters. “The Misanthrope” is set among the courtiers and would-be courtiers of the the French crown. (Moliere himself found favor in the court of Louis XIV.) It is a biting satire. Alceste, the title character, refuses to be anything less than blunt He believes truth to be superior to all forms of empty political platitudes His honesty keeps him in dif ficulties. His paramour is Celimene, a beautiful young woman who is everything Alceste despises — manipulative, teasing, vir tually amoral. Nevertheless, he loves her passionately. Robert Baron, who plays Alceste, is an accomplished actor. His timing is impec cable. His facial expressions are marvelous. His gestures are correct and proper. But he is acting by the book, and that is unfor tunate. Watching his nearly flawless performance is like looking at a delightful land scape hanging in a museum and seeing little numbers showing through the paint. Melanie Leslie, who began her career as a dancer and Theater Review “The Misanthrope” only recently transferred to acting, best exemplifies what a university theater is about. Her performance of the tantalizing Celimene shows her to be an actress of great promise. She is lusty and coquettish, as her part demands Aseneth James, who plays Celimene’s cousin Eliante, is a superb actress and here puts In a wonderful perfor mance. Her scenes are easily the high point of the show because she has such presence. She moves on stage with great ease, and knows well the art of relating to other performers. James' scenes with Barry Pitzer, who portrays Philinte, Alceste's friend and Eliante's suitor, demonstrate this. When Pitzer is opposite James he plays calmly and with assurance. Opposite Baron he is a bit clumsy and awkward. Moliere’s own life as an actor heavily influenced his play writing. His scripts are detailed in their stage direc tions. Modern audiences may be surprised with how well they play today. Yet Yarian's direction is somewhat perplexing. While it is clear that some of the cast understand courtly manners, others perform a crude parody. The court fop, for example, is not played as the worst stereotype limp wrist swish. This is the perplexity. What, in the end, is served by this production? There is marvelous acting, to be sure, and tight directing — the performance never drags, and there's enough business to keep the audience amused But Yarian's raison d’etre for staging the play is obscured It's as if he found the opportunity to play with a play he's always wanted to play with And such can be the worst aspect of a univer sity theater. "The Misanthrope" con cludes its run this Thursday Saturday in the tiny Arena Theater in Villard Hall si VINO'S ■ SPAGHETTI ■ nouse ■ % 342-8111 TINO’S • Full dinner menu • 23 varieties of Pizzas • Whole wheat and white crust • Pizzas to go -cooked and uncooked 15th and Willamette New Hours Mon.-Thurs. 11 00 Midnight Frl. 11 00 1 00 am Sat. 5 00 1 00 a m Sun. 5 00 11 00 pm ft !ME |anuary Specials Network Perms Haircut included Reg $40.00 long hair extra Haircut Reg $11.00 Acrylic Nails Reg. $40.00 *25°° sum) *25"* Offer expiree Feb. I, 1983 20 H. 25th 342-7661 -rr roupoa r .
