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When beast
meets artLa Bête (The Beast/The Fool): At Kennedy Theatre, 8 p.m. today to Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Pre-show chats 7 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday offer insight into 17th-century theater. Tickets $12 regular; $9 seniors, military, UH faculty and staff; $6 non-UH students and children; $3 UH students. Call 956-7655
By John Berger AN orphan and two 17th-century French actors are the protagonists in two very different theatrical experiences at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.
Special to the Star-Bulletin"La Bête (The Beast/The Fool)" is an instantly engaging celebration of the classic, acidic social comedies of Moliere. Playwright David Hirson echoes the familiar perspectives and rhythms so effectively that "La Bête" could easily pass muster as an "unknown" Molière manuscript just as director Lurana Donnels O'Malley playfully suggests in program notes.
Hirson borrowed extensively from "Tartuffe" and "The Misanthrope" in crafting this delightful account of the conflict between the idealists who strive to present thought-provoking entertainment and the pragmatists who go for the lowest common denominator in creating escapist fare.
No prior exposure to Molière is necessary to enjoy the battle between Elomire (Joseph Abraham) and Valere (Mark Branner).
Elomire is the idealist. He and his second in command Bejart (Kelli Melson) are aghast when their patron, Prince Conti (Jeremy Pippin), sends word that their theater troupe is to be reinforced by the addition of Valere, a troubadour and street performer who plays to the masses and is perhaps best known for a play titled "The Dying Clown."
As if that's not bad enough, Valere is a self-absorbed egotist who is nevertheless delighted to talk at length on how insufferable he finds those people who talk on and on about themselves!
O'Malley, Abraham and Branner deftly nudge our sympathies as the story unfolds. Valere repulses at first with his over-the-top obnoxiousness; once he is enmeshed in Elomire's plot to discredit him it is hard not to sympathize with his plight.
Stephen Crowell (scenic design), Sandra Finney (costumes) and Storm Stafford (makeup) distinguish themselves in creating the setting with 17th-century ambience. Denise White (Dorine) adds a bizarre, engaging character as a servant who only speaks in words that rhyme with "blue."
Over at the Ernst Lab Theatre following "La Bête," odd language is the one accessible element in "A Way Home." Director/playwright Bill Carr offers a cryptic look at six characters who live in a post-apocalyptic underground environment where rats are protein.
The language is mostly an abbreviated English, although one character delivers two lengthy monologues in Japanese for no apparent reason. There is also no apparent reason to care what happens to the Orphan (Jonathan Clarke Sypert) or his captors.
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