Oui, mes amis: ma moustache, les femmes l'adorent

Maybe I should go to the theater more often. I don’t because it’s usually too expensive and I’m afraid of that "crap-there-go-40-bucks-down-the-toilet" feeling that makes you wonder during the entire second act what you could have done with two 20s instead. Maybe the play could’ve picked up and become more enjoyable but unfortunately feeling cheap has truncated being attentive by that point.

So instead of checking my theater listings every week, I just wait for something to hit me in the face and go like “dude, go check me out, I’m totally rad.” Then I make sure to make it as public as possible to make it seem as if I do check the theater listings every week and look like the smart and acculturated theater-going type. I got a reputation to live up to, you know.

Anyway, the other day I get an email telling me about this play with the provocative and difficult-to-live-up-to title of “The Misanthrope.” I later found out that this is actually French and long-time defunct playwright Moliere’s best known work. Here’s what this online biography has to say about him, but besides remembering him as “that guy with the fluffy curly hair and the awkward moustache,” try to think of him as the author of these insightful quotes on comedy:

“The duty of comedy is to correct men by amusing them.”

And:

“As the purpose of comedy is to correct the vices of men, I see no reason why anyone should be exempt.”

I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone would agree.

Anyway, I had lots of fun. The troupe was fabulous, all of them very likable and charismatic. The acting felt very natural for a script in verse. I agree with this guy (scroll to the bottom) about the distracting anachronisms (the historical setting is the XVII century, but a guy in Louie XIV attire sports sunglasses, listens to his iPod and sings ‘Everybody Wants to Change the World’ in his karaoke machine for no reason and with little comical effect), but I disagree with his overall assessment of the production, which is indifferent at best. I thought they did a good job at highlighting the main universal themes of Moliere’s play.

It’s a great play with lots of food for thought. I’ll post a brief synopsis on it and some of the issues that I found interesting to reflect on in a couple of days. No, really; I will. In fact, it’s already written. It’s just too long and I wanted to break this post in two. Really! You can trust me this once, so go read the play in the meantime(sorry: couldn't find a movie adaptation). It’s old and French so it must be good!
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Try not to think of things that are French and old that aren’t good and go with me on this one, ok…?