Moliere production true to spirit of original

The son of a well-off Parisian upholsterer, Moliere seemed destined either to go into his father's trade or embark on a prosperous legal career.\nBut he left all of that behind, abandoning the security of his bourgeois trappings.\nInstead, he decided the theater was for him.\nAfter joining the fledgling Illustre Theatre company as an actor at the age of 21, Moliere faced a lifetime of debt. Barely scraping by, he even ended up spending some time in prison because of loan defaultments. But he persisted, eventually gaining the patronage of Louis XIII.\nIn large part, Moliere was so driven through thick and thin because he had something to say. Through caricature, he launched full-on assaults on all forms of human foible. In plays like "The Imaginary Invalid," he drew out a vice to ridiculous proportions, allowing the audience to put it in due perspective.\nIn "The Misanthrope," his most famous work, Alceste embodies the sin of misanthropy, the haughty contemptuousness that leads one down a lonely path. The University Theatre troupe staged a highly polished production of the classic farce, which closed Saturday.\nDeploring the insincerity of social customs, Alceste insists on bluntly speaking his mind -- whatever the cost. This propensity gets him into trouble when the foppish Oronte asks him his opinion of a sonnet he wrote.\nAt first, Alceste pans the verse, dismissing it as too contrived and deliberately in keeping with the modern style. But after some heated exchange, he goes so far as to condemn it as trash.\nOronte sues Alceste because of it, and the matter is complicated because they are both among the numerous suitors to pursue the hand of the lovely widow Celimene. Coquettish through and through, Celimene leads them all on without remaining faithful to any.\nAlceste's friend Philinte tries to persuade him to exercise restraint and clam up even when he feels strongly about something. And knowing what Celimene is really like, he also attempts to sell Alceste on her more agreeable cousin Eliante.\nStubborn as a mule, Alceste will hear nothing of it. Even after Celimene's dishonesty has been proven, he can't wean himself from her. But when she won't sequester herself off in the countryside with him, he retreats to lick his wounds.\nOn one hand, he hasn't grown at all. For all of Philinte's reasoning, he can only fall on the sword of principle. But on the other hand, one can only agree that he's correct to have reservations about her faithfulness if she "can't see the whole world in his eyes."\nTranslated by Richard Wilbur, the language is vibrant and lively.\nAlthough it's not easy delivering lines written entirely in rhymed couplets, the cast pulled it off well.\nThe performances were solid all-around, grounded in the farcical spirit of the work. Graduate student Geoff Wilson was especially good in the title role, making Alceste out to be the buffoon he is, for all his high-minded cynicism and contempt.\nLikewise, Kelly Ann Ford was excellent as Celimene, in her Master of Fine Arts thesis role. She lent the role depth and subtlety. After her back-biting came to light, she looked expectantly into Alceste's eyes. While it had been hard to read her character for most of the evening, she revealed all with a glance.\nAnd that's no small feat.