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class=MsoNormal align=center><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Redone
‘Invalid’ well done at Great Lakes<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">This
review will appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald</I>
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">on
10/12/12</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Satire, noted renowned
playwright and drama critic George S. Kaufman, is that thing that opens Friday
night and closes on Saturday. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yet,
Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid”—a rollicking send-up of the medical community
that was first performed at the Palais Royal Theatre in Paris in 1673—is
currently on stage at the Hanna Theatre in downtown Cleveland.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Clearly, the play’s
survival is due to the cleverness of Molière’s wordplay, the broadly drawn but
immediately recognizable characters he created, and the shelf-life of its
subject matter.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The health care
system, it seems, is still an easy target for ridicule and
reform.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The thing about satire is
that it requires refreshening if it is to remain relevant, for topicality is
transient.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As antiquated as our
health care system is, 17<SUP>th</SUP> century allusions to apothecaries and
lines about bloodletting could use a good, swift kick in the
pants.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">No one understands
this better than the folks at Great Lakes Theater who have raised the tweaking
of classic works to an art form.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Last year, for example, Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” was
transported from the 1590s to the 1980s, transmuted from the Italian city of
Padua to a fashionable L.A. boardwalk, and transformed from a comedy to an
all-out romp.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">While enlivening the
original work, Great Lakes never undermines its integrity or messes with its
language.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The play always remains
the thing and, in “Shrew,” everything that was Shakespeare’s was upped in
intensity, velocity and frivolity, but it was still
Shakespeare’s.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">In “The Imaginary Invalid,” however,
director Tracy Young—who was at the helm of “Shrew”—takes so many creative
liberties that it is unclear where Molière ends and revisions by
playwright-for-hire Oded Gross begin. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What starts out as a madcap makeover
through an infusion of </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>1960s
pop culture and original music by Paul Prendergast reveals an underlying
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">cosmetic
surgery.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>A new character has been
added.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Molière’s song and dance
Interludes are now full-blown production numbers.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The work’s highly stylized burlesque
presentation takes on more farcical, commedia dell’arte stylings that change the
tone and temperament of the work.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The language, which has long been tampered with through various
translations and adaptations, is unrecognizable. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Fortunately, the cosmetic
surgery is not of the Joan Rivers variety, where pieces and parts do not work as
originally designed or in synchrony with one another.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This reconfiguration of “The Imaginary
Invalid” actually works remarkably well.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>In fact, this production is delightfully
entertaining.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The story is intact.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The wealthy Argan (Tom Ford) is a
housebound hypochondriac who fears everything and is dependent on the advice of
greedy and misinformed doctors (Lynn Robert Berg) to keep him alive.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Saddled with medical bills and a
secretly scheming second wife (Lise Bruneau) and her attorney (J. Todd Adams),
he resolves to marry off one of his daughters (Kimbe Lancaster) to a wealthy
medical student (Ian Gould) she does not love and send the other (Jodi Dominick)
to a convent.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Argan’s grounded
brother (David Anthony Smith) and mouthy maid (Sara Bruner) scheme to get Argan
to embrace life, recognize his blessings, and see his wife and the medical
community for what they really are.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The humor is intact as well, with
Young, Gross and </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>Prendergast</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"
lang=EN> </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">embellishing the
play’s frivolity with contemporary references and enriching the existent lowbrow
humor and allusions to bodily functions by going even lower.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The gorgeous apartment and costuming,
designed by Christopher Acebo, are full of sight gags that work
beautifully.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In lesser hands, the
performance of this re-invented play would not work as well.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In fact, a screening of the premiere
production of Young’s adaptation at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is good but
not as impressive as the one currently on stage.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Tom Ford is an incomparable invalid and
those surrounding him share his impeccable comic timing and brilliant
physicality.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The play unfolds at
break-neck speed, but still manages to turn heads and leave room for laughs.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Perhaps this production
should not be accredited to Molière but, rather, listed as inspired by him and
titled “The Re-Imagined Invalid.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The playwright’s spirit can be felt, but it has been reduced to a lesser
albeit blithe spirit.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Speaking of which, Noel
Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” is scheduled later in the Great Lake season.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Will it be re-imagined as well, for
where does the line get drawn between honoring a classic work and honing it to
better suit the times? <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Great Lakes
Theater, for good and bad, has opened the floodgates wide. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">“The Imaginary Invalid” continues
through November 3 at PlayhouseSquare’s Hanna Theatre in downtown
Cleveland.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range
from $15 to $70, call 216-241-6000 or visit <B><A href=""><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.greatlakestheater.org</FONT></SPAN></A>.</B></SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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