[NEohioPAL]From the Greatest Comic Playwright of All Time! Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid at the Beck Center

Wed May 4 05:08:09 PDT 2005

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For Immediate Release:

May 3, 2005

Direct questions to (216) 521-2540

Yvette Hanzel, extension 225

Scott Spence, extension 239

The Beck Center for the Arts Presents

Moli=E9re's - The Imaginary Invalid (1673)

In a new verse adaptation by

Timothy Mooney

May 20 - June 12, 2005

=20

Who knew that the seventeenth century was this hilarious!? The Beck =
Center presents The Imaginary Invalid a wild and wacky comedy from the =
greatest comic playwright of all time: Moli=E8re!

=20

The Beck Center for the Arts and Artistic Director, Scott Spence =
announce the opening of Moli=E8re's The Imaginary Invalid, in a new =
verse adaptation by nationally renowned director and Moli=E8re expert =
Timothy Mooney.  The Imaginary Invalid will open May 20, 2005 and run =
through June 12 on the Main Stage.

=20

The Imaginary Invalid reveals Moli=E8re as the great grandfather to =
every style of comedy we have ever known, foreshadowing style and form =
of the Marx Brothers, Bugs Bunny, Lucille Ball, and even the modern =
musical comedy, with interludes and a finale guaranteed to bring the =
house down with laughter!=20

=20

To get to the heart of this farcical, satirical, situation-comedy, =
musical piece, the culmination of Moli=E8re's prolific career, The Beck =
Center has called on Timothy Mooney, one of the country's foremost =
experts on Moli=E8re, and the adaptor of fifteen of Moli=E8re's plays =
including this script of The Imaginary Invalid. Mooney has performed his =
one-man play, "Moli=E8re Than Thou" (Best Adapted Work, San Francisco =
Fringe Fest) introducing the great work and speeches of Moli=E8re to =
tens of thousands across the US and Canada. While Mooney's version of =
The Imaginary Invalid has been produced some dozen times, this will =
notably be the first time Tim has directed it himself, which means that =
he's pulling out all the stops with new songs, dances and comic lazzi to =
capture Moli=E8re's comic muse.=20

=20

"This was Moli=E8re's final play," Mooney reports, "and he was =
revisiting all of his favorite themes and characters, most notably the =
miserly father, Argan (played by Matthew Wright) who wants to marry his =
daughter off to a husband who will benefit himself (a doctor who will =
give free medical advice), and the servant, Toinette (Tracee Patterson), =
who impersonates the doctor while playfully tormenting her master."=20

=20

Directed by Mooney, Moli=E9re's The Imaginary Invalid, is a celebration =
of human folly, and like the The Miser, is centered around a single =
trait of character upon which everything turns, in this case, that of =
the hypochondriac.  Even as Moli=E9re started work on The Imaginary =
Invalid, late in the winter of 1672, he knew he was dying.  For five =
years he had fought a chronic pulmonary infection and a violent, =
rattling cough that hindered his stage performances.  With =
characteristic wit and ingenuity, Moli=E9re created for himself the role =
of Argan, the invalid whose occasional cough would not distract from his =
character.  To tell Argan that he is looking well is considered a rude =
offense in this household.

=20

In addition to this father who insists on being sick, the stage plays =
host to a parade of scheming housewives, wily servants, sexy lovers, and =
buffoonish, incompetent doctors, whose great medical techniques consist =
of nothing but "bleedings, purgings and enemas."  Add to this, a =
dialogue rendered for the first time into hilarious rhymed couplets, and =
you've got a play that is a feast for the ears as well as the funny =
bone. The cast of the Beck Center's production of The Imaginary Invalid =
includes, among others, Matthew Wright as Argan, Tracee Patterson as =
Toinette, Michelle Ehrman as Angelique, Robert Hawkes as Beralde, Mark =
Genszler as Cleante, and Noah Varness as Thomas.

=20

Mooney notes that the Beck Center production will be wild and farcical. =
"We're setting it amid the grand and glorious venue of Versailles, where =
Moli=E8re's troupe, in their rich, lush costumes, often came to perform. =
Our guiding metaphor is the confusion between medicine and religion, as =
doctors who think of themselves as priests, pretend to hold the power of =
life and death over their patients in spite of their sheer ineptitude.

=20

Four performances into the original run of this play, Moli=E8re died one =
of the most ironic deaths of all time.  Literally hours before his =
death, he had been onstage, as Argan, condemning the supposed =
"Moli=E8re," insisting that, should he get sick, "doctors should not =
lift a finger in his aid." Hours later, the real Moli=E8re was dead, =
with no doctors around to attend him! Comedy has a way of getting to the =
core of serious things, and nowhere more cuttingly and more delightfully =
than in The Imaginary Invalid.

=20

For tickets call the Beck Center Box Office at (216) 521-2540 or log =
onto www.beckcenter.org <http://www.beckcenter.org/> . Tickets are $26 =
for adults, $23 for seniors 65 and older, and $15 for students (22 and =
under with ID). All individual ticket sales are subject to a $2 =
administrative fee per ticket applied at the time of ticket reservation. =
 Group discounts are available for parties of 12 or more. The Beck =
Center for the Arts is located just 10 minutes west of downtown =
Cleveland at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood.

=20

###

=20

Fran Storch

Marketing Assistant

The Beck Center for the Arts

17801 Detroit Avenue

Lakewood, Ohio  44107

216-521-2540, ext. 244

=20

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<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>For Immediate =
Release:<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><st1:date Year=3D"2005" Day=3D"3" Month=3D"5" =
w:st=3D"on"><font
 size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>May 3, =
2005</span></font></st1:date><font
size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p=
>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Direct questions to (216) =
521-2540<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Yvette Hanzel, extension =
225<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st=3D"on"><font size=3D2 =
face=3DArial><span
 style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Scott =
Spence</span></font></st1:PersonName><font
size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, extension
239<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dcenter style=3D'text-align:center'><font =
size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>The <st1:place =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceName
 w:st=3D"on">Beck</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType =
w:st=3D"on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
for the Arts Presents<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dcenter style=3D'text-align:center'><i><font =
size=3D4
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:14.0pt;font-style:italic'>Moli=E9re’s
- The Imaginary Invalid (1673)<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dcenter style=3D'text-align:center'><font =
size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>In a new verse =
adaptation
by<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dcenter style=3D'text-align:center'><font =
size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>Timothy =
Mooney<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dcenter =
style=3D'text-align:center'><b><i><font size=3D3
color=3Dblue face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:blue;
font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>May 20 – June 12, =
2005<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

Who knew that the seventeenth century was this hilarious!? The =
<st1:place
w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Beck</st1:PlaceName> =
<st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
presents The Imaginary =
Invalid a
wild and wacky comedy from the greatest comic playwright of all time: =
Moli=E8re!<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'>The <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceName =
w:st=3D"on">Beck</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
 w:st=3D"on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> for the Arts and =
Artistic Director,
<st1:PersonName w:st=3D"on">Scott Spence</st1:PersonName> announce the =
opening of
Moli=E8re’s <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>The Imaginary =
Invalid, </span></i>in
a new verse adaptation by nationally renowned director and Moli=E8re =
expert
Timothy Mooney.=A0 <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>The Imaginary =
Invalid </span></i>will
open <st1:date Month=3D"5" Day=3D"20" Year=3D"2005" w:st=3D"on">May 20, =
2005</st1:date>
and run through June 12 on the Main Stage.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

The Imaginary =
Invalid reveals Moli=E8re as the =
great grandfather
to every style of comedy we have ever known, foreshadowing style and =
form of the
Marx Brothers, Bugs Bunny, Lucille Ball, and even the modern musical =
comedy,
with interludes and a finale guaranteed to bring the house down with =
laughter! <o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

To get to the heart of this farcical, satirical, =
situation-comedy,
musical piece, the culmination of Moli=E8re’s prolific career, The =
Beck
Center has called on Timothy Mooney, one of the country’s foremost =
experts
on Moli=E8re, and the adaptor of fifteen of Moli=E8re’s plays =
including this
script of The Imaginary =
Invalid.
Mooney has performed his one-man play, “Moli=E8re Than Thou” =
(Best
Adapted Work, San Francisco Fringe Fest) introducing the great work and
speeches of Moli=E8re to tens of thousands across the =
<st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">US</st1:country-region>
and <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:country-region =
w:st=3D"on">Canada</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
While Mooney’s version of The
Imaginary Invalid has been produced some dozen times, this =
will
notably be the first time Tim has directed it himself, which means that
he’s pulling out all the stops with new songs, dances and comic =
lazzi to
capture Moli=E8re’s comic muse. <o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'>“This was Moli=E8re’s final play,” Mooney =
reports,
“and he was revisiting all of his favorite themes and characters, =
most
notably the miserly father, Argan (played by Matthew Wright) who wants =
to marry
his daughter off to a husband who will benefit himself (a doctor who =
will give
free medical advice), and the servant, Toinette (Tracee Patterson), who
impersonates the doctor while playfully tormenting her master.” =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'>Directed by Mooney, <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Moli=E9re’s
The Imaginary Invalid,</span></i> is a celebration of human folly, =
and<i><span
style=3D'font-style:italic'> </span></i>like the <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>The
Miser</span></i>, is centered around a single trait of character upon =
which
everything turns, in this case, that of the hypochondriac.=A0 Even as =
Moli=E9re
started work on <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>The Imaginary =
Invalid, </span></i>late
in the winter of 1672, he knew he was dying.=A0 For five years he had =
fought a
chronic pulmonary infection and a violent, rattling cough that hindered =
his
stage performances.=A0 With characteristic wit and ingenuity, Moli=E9re =
created for
himself the role of Argan, the invalid whose occasional cough =
would
not distract from his character.=A0 To tell Argan that he is looking =
well is
considered a rude offense in this =
household.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

In addition to this father who insists on being sick, the stage =
plays
host to a parade of scheming housewives, wily servants, sexy lovers, and
buffoonish, incompetent doctors, whose great medical techniques consist =
of
nothing but “bleedings, purgings and enemas.”=A0 Add to =
this, a
dialogue rendered for the first time into hilarious rhymed couplets, and
you’ve got a play that is a feast for the ears as well as the =
funny bone.
The cast of the Beck Center’s production of The Imaginary Invalid includes, among others, Matthew =
Wright
as Argan, <st1:PersonName w:st=3D"on">Tracee Patterson</st1:PersonName> =
as Toinette,
Michelle Ehrman as Angelique, Robert Hawkes as Beralde, Mark Genszler as
Cleante, and Noah Varness as Thomas.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

Mooney notes that the <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceName =
w:st=3D"on">Beck</st1:PlaceName>
 <st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> =
production will be
wild and farcical. “We’re setting it amid the grand and =
glorious
venue of <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:City =
w:st=3D"on">Versailles</st1:City></st1:place>,
where Moli=E8re’s troupe, in their rich, lush costumes, often came =
to
perform. Our guiding metaphor is the confusion between medicine and =
religion,
as doctors who think of themselves as priests, pretend to hold the power =
of
life and death over their patients in spite of their sheer =
ineptitude.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

Four performances into the original run of this play, Moli=E8re =
died one
of the most ironic deaths of all time.=A0 Literally hours before his =
death, he
had been onstage, as Argan, condemning the supposed =
“Moli=E8re,”
insisting that, should he get sick, “doctors should not lift a =
finger in
his aid.” Hours later, the real Moli=E8re was dead, with no =
doctors around
to attend him! Comedy has a way of getting to the core of serious =
things, and
nowhere more cuttingly and more delightfully than in The Imaginary Invalid.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'>For tickets call the Beck Center Box Office at (216) 521-2540 or =
log
onto <a href=3D"http://www.beckcenter.org/">www.beckcenter.org</a>.=A0 =
Tickets are
$26 for adults, $23 for seniors 65 and older, and $15 for students (22 =
and
under with ID).=A0 All individual ticket sales are subject to a $2 =
administrative
fee per ticket applied at the time of ticket reservation.=A0 Group =
discounts are
available for parties of 12 or more.=A0 The <st1:PlaceName =
w:st=3D"on">Beck</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Center</st1:PlaceType> for the Arts is =
located just 10
minutes west of downtown <st1:City w:st=3D"on">Cleveland</st1:City> at =
<st1:Street
w:st=3D"on"><st1:address w:st=3D"on">17801 Detroit =
Avenue</st1:address></st1:Street>
in <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:City =
w:st=3D"on">Lakewood</st1:City></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>=

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dcenter style=3D'text-align:center'><font =
size=3D2
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:11.0pt'>###<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Fran Storch<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Marketing Assistant<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceName =
w:st=3D"on">Beck</st1:PlaceName>
 <st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> for the =
Arts<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><st1:Street w:st=3D"on"><st1:address =
w:st=3D"on"><font size=3D2
  face=3DArial><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>17801 =
Detroit
  Avenue</span></font></st1:address></st1:Street><font size=3D2 =
face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p=
>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:City w:st=3D"on"><font =
size=3D2
  face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Lakewood</span></font></st1:=
City><font
 size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, <st1:State
 w:st=3D"on">Ohio</st1:State>=A0 <st1:PostalCode =
w:st=3D"on">44107</st1:PostalCode></span></font></st1:place><font
size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p=
>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>216-521-2540, ext. 244<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

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style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

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