Description

What happens when the dramatic art of Molière is unleashed onto the stage and explodes into new life? 'Molière on Stage' takes the reader onstage, backstage and into the audience of Molière's plays, analyzing the performance of his works in both his own time and ours. Written by a professional stage director with over fifty years of experience directing and translating Molière, this original, in-depth study allows the reader to see how the playwright's lines have been brought to new life on stage throughout the centuries.

The text explores how Molière strove to create a communal experience of shared laughter that fulfilled the universal need for union, and focuses on four key topics: the elements of Molière's early life that are evidenced in his later theater works; his great central plays that focus on love and lust; his comedic genius and his passion for the theater; and the final words and performances of his vivid and exceptional life. Inspired by the actions of the great French masters, the text pays homage to the interpretations of Molière offered by the playwright himself, Louis Jouvet, Jacques Copeau and Jean-Louis Barrault, as well as those staged by American actors and directors such as Ron Leibman, Stephen Epp, Steven Wadsworth, Robert Falls and the author.