The Imaginary Invalid

NEAR THE END of Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid, Beralde turns to the hypochondriac, Argan, and suggests that he "go see some of Moliere's plays" on the subject of medicine. To do so, Beralde explains, would be a good lesson for Argan and might persuade him of the absurdity of his belief in the power and good will of doctors, for they are all quacks--their pills, injections, and enemas only impede the proper working of the body.

Pointing out this absurdity is the central goal of The Imaginary Invalid, Argan, the comic hero, insists throughout that he is an invalid and that only his doctors are protecting him from death. He views them as gods, trusts them, believes in them, devotes himself to their well-being.

Of course, Argan is in perfectly good health, his hypochondria being simply the most obvious out-growth of his tyrannical self-assertion over the members of his household. His tyranny becomes critical when, early in the play, it brings him into opposition with his daughter's plans to marry. The daughter, Angelique, wants to marry Cleante, but Argan, without consulting her, arranges for her marriage to Thomas Diafoirus, the son of one of his doctors. Needless to say, Cleante is a young Achilles, and Thomas Diafoirus a big booby. Throughout the first three quarters of the play, Argan perseveres in his blindness until, through a series of ingenious plots and disguises, he is brought down to earth, and the young love of Angelique and Diafoirus carries the day.

Under the direction of Robert Edgar, Dunster House has put together an old production of The Imaginary Invalid. For one thing, several of the actors--especially Roy Goldfinger as Argan--play their roles in an effeminate way. Moliere's Argan, bluntly put, is a madman. When asked why he persists in standing in the way of his daughter's love, he replies, "Because I'm king of my own castle and I do what I think fit." On stage his source of strength should be this single-minded devotion to his role as the father of the family and the hypochondria that springs from it. Instead, Goldfinger seems always to be squealing with delight or in protest; he seems to be playing at being Argan, but never quite getting inside him.

Amy Allen, on the other hand, is delightful as the maid Toinette who brings about the final happy conclusion. In front of Argan's weakness, her insouciance and her defiance of the father's pomposity are refreshing. Over and over Argan calls her "a slut." In essence she is, and an enchanting one.

In the minor roles, Jane Jackson as Argan's sinister wife and David Richardson, as the hopelessly inept Thomas Diafoirus, stand out. But many of the others don't quite know what to do with their roles. Jan Gough, as Angelique, is like a starry-eyed, dim-witted girl from Vassar. Burton Gaige, her lover, who wears a brown jacket, enormous gold pantaloons, and a long curly blond wig, looks more like the Cowardly Lion than Achilles. And Mike Kapetan, as Beralde, who should be the raisonneur of the play, is for some reason dressed in bright purple and a red wig and manages to come off like a patsy.

As entertainment, Dunster's production of The Imaginary Invalid is rather successful. The good humor of the play, complemented by the translation of Robert Edgar and John Russo, makes the play move quickly along. In addition, there are three "interludes" of song and dance which add to the general festivity. But if the production held any greater ambitions than these, it seems to have lost them along the way.