SUNY Oneonta Students Take the Stage in ‘The Imaginary Invalid’

On Stage: Performing Arts at our Oneonta Campuses
by Rachel Frick Cardelle

(Note to readers: If you don’t like classical plays because they are too serious and “highbrow,” the first paragraph of this article might make you lose interest. Let me assure you, this play is full of fart jokes and quite silly. As Sarah, one of the actors in this piece, said, “Be open, try coming to see this play! Classical pieces can be really funny!” If you prefer your theater more serious and highbrow, ignore this note and dive right into the first paragraph below.)

The first play of the semester for SUNY Oneonta will be “The Imaginary Invalid” by Molière. Written in French, some translations entitle the play “The Hypochondriac.” Molière was born in 1622 as Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, adopting “Molière” as a stage name when he became an actor. “The Imaginary Invalid” was the last work Molière wrote. Playing the lead role as the hypochondriac in the play, Molière was quite sick with tuberculosis, barely making it through a performance and dying just hours after the curtain call.

Molière became famous for his farces, using the kind of comedy that takes an aspect of society and shows the audience the ridiculousness of societal structures. Since Molièrechose to take on aspects of society that had enormous power, his approach often got him into serious trouble. “The Imaginary Invalid” takes aim at the medical profession and the idea that one’s children’s most important duty in life is to the parent. In the play, the doctor’s remedies make the patient sick, and the father insists his daughter’s lifelong happiness should not get in the way of him saving some money.

Argan, the main character, believes that he is quite ill and spends a lot of time and money on remedies from a doctor who takes pride in prescribing traditional therapies rather than proven cures. While quite a wealthy man (at one point he tells his wife he has one stash of money hidden in the house that is the equivalent of several million dollars in today’s money), Argan wants to cut down on his medical bills so decides to marry his daughter to his doctor’s son, who, like his father, prefers not to follow evidence and data, but rather remain uneducated and follow tradition blindly. Argan’s daughter, on the other hand, is madly in love with a man she met once in a park and is horrified at the idea of making a lifelong commitment to anyone else. A LOT of silliness ensues, punctuated by enemas, farting and absurd conversations.

The actors have put serious work into learning the script for this play. In addition to all of them (other than the lead) playing multiple roles, I talked to them about the difficulty of memorizing their lines written in Early Modern English, and Brian assured me it was very hard, a comment that got vigorous nods from the rest of the cast. Tori pointed out that the play was written in mid-1600s French, then translated, which adds an extra layer of complication to the language. Still, she said, it isn’t as hard as Shakespeare and she has tackled the task by figuring out first how her roles speak to her. Sarah agreed that since it is her first time acting in a classical play, rather than a contemporary play, it has been challenging. Still, the difficulty comes in how the words are arranged, not that the concepts are complicated or foreign, she shared.

Which led us into the discussion of how foreign some of the concepts are to a modern audience. When it comes to the issue of medical care, we have progressed a long way since Molière’s time* they felt. Tori likes the advice that Beralde, Aragan’s brother in the play, gives when he says do nothing (about Argan’s imagined ills) rather than take a remedy that makes Argan sick! Jess, the assistant stage manager, piped in that the advice was better then than now, since going to the doctor today has far better outcomes than in Molière’s time, as modern doctors have received extensive, science-based training! Yet we all agreed that a modern audience can relate to the concept of a lot of bogus remedies on the market and the tremendous amount of money one can spend on healthcare.

As we talked, the cast and crew agreed that a modern audience can also relate to the struggle between parent and child over who the child is going to marry. While most of us don’t get asked to marry to lower our parent’s medical bill, sometimes the question of the son or daughter’s marital happiness takes a back seat to considerations of religion, sexuality, race, or ethnicity. Personally, I have a friend who has said [jokingly?] that if his daughter tries to marry a Manchester United fan he will disinherit her.

Watching this play in rehearsal and chatting with the cast, crew, and director proved truly enjoyable. Molière’s script is fun. The cast is fun. The crew is fun. The director is fun. And while silliness in the show prevails, it hides behind it a script that takes on some very serious issues and a cast, crew, and director who have worked really hard to make it all seem effortless. So, if you are looking for an evening of fun, fun, fun, fun, that includes a silly script, singing and dancing all at a very low cost, I encourage you to head to SUNY O’s production of Poquelin’s “The Hypochondriac,” or better said and recognized as Molière’s “The Imaginary Invalid.” And if you are feeling a bit bilious and gaseous, you’ll feel right at home!

*For example, Molière died from tuberculosis, a disease that took the lives of millions of people from the 16th to the 18th century. When the bacteria that caused TB was discovered in 1882, it was the cause of one out of every seven deaths in the U.S. and Europe. It wasn’t until 1944 that an effective cure was found. And despite what Molière’s doctor believed, the remedy was based on science, not tradition!

You can watch “The Imaginary Invalid” in the Fine Arts Center’s Hamblin Theater on SUNY O’s campus September 29 and 30 (Friday and Saturday) at 7:30 p.m., October 1 (Sunday) at 2 p.m. or October 3 and 4 (Tuesday and Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m. for $6.00 general admission or free with a SUNY Oneonta ID (one person).

UP NEXT: “Kathakali”performed at Hartwick College on October 12 at Hartwick’s Slade Theater.

Rachel Frick Cardelle covers performing arts at SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College.