Molière Impromptu

Molière Impromptu
Translated and adapted by Rinne Groff

November 8-16, 2013
Moliere Impromptu
Principal People: 

Director Matthew R. Wilson

Special Announcement: 

Due to another event on campus, we expect parking to be difficult on the afternoon of Sunday, November 10. Please allow extra travel time​ and plan on arriving early for the 2PM performance.

Event Attributes

Estimated Length: 
2 hours and 15 minutes including intermission
Audience Advisory: 
Due to mature themes, this event may be unsuitable for some children under 16.
Program Notes: 

Based on three short plays by Molière, Molière Impromptu is a wickedly funny look at the magic of theatre.

Set in 1665 Versailles, the play presents a director’s nightmare as the members of Molière's Illustre Theatre gather to rehearse a new play commissioned by the King for a performance that very night. The script is in horrible shape, the straight man wants to leave the troupe, marital spats are ripping the company apart, the intern is lobbying for a bigger part and the lead actress can never remember her lines.

First performed by Trinity Repertory Company in 2005, the play is a contemporary take on the works of one of the great masters of Western comedy.

Join the artists for a Talk Back following the Sunday, November 10 matinee performance.

Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc.

Preview by The Diamondback

The play uses masks and period costumes but adds a contemporary spin, creating “a really modern flair on a classical template,” [director Matthew] Wilson said. It’s designed by graduate students, with undergraduate students filling the cast, he said.

– BEENA RAGHAVENDRAN, The Diamondback, October 11, 2013

Preview by The Gazette

“It's funny,” [director Matthew] Wilson said. “The bottom line is Moliére’s works was funny then and it's funny now.”

– CARA HEDGEPATH, The Gazette, November 4, 2013

Review by DC Metro Theater Arts

The 12-person cast takes on two and three roles throughout the play within a play within a play. The funniest part was watching their offstage lives shine through the roles they assume – from the serious actor who just wants a great death scene to the intern who just wants his shot in the lights, to the half dozen marriages and relationships that are tested onstage and off. In other words, life in the theater hasn’t changed all that much in three centuries either.

– JESSICA VAUGHAN, DC Metro Theater Arts, November 12, 2013