Steadstyle Chicago
	March 2008 Theatre Review by Randy Hardwick
	Looking for a Ticket Broker? Check out the hottest broadway tickets from Gotickets.com The Misanthrope Critical Evaluation: **** out of **** (Left) Carlo Garcia, Kate Cares and Dan Behrendt; (Right) Alex Goodrich, Kevin Cox and Matthew Sherbach in Greasy Joan & Co.'s production of "The Misanthrope".  (Below) Kevin Cox and Kate Cares.  Photos by Michael Brosilow. Greasy Joan and Co. have scored one of the artistic triumphs of the season with their production of Ranjit Bolt's translation of Molière's classic comedy, "The Misanthrope".  It is a timeless theatrical work that has enjoyed great popularity in modern theatre owing to humor based on human foibles that won't go away.  Could anything be more relevant to today's age than a critical look at vanity, conniving and insincerity?  Molière may have written "The Misanthrope" about the pretensions of life around the Bourbon court, but the banality of today's image-over-substance, media-driven culture of stardom makes an equally delicious target.  Director Libby Ford has set the show in an ambiguous time, thereby leaving the audience free to make the contemporary connection or simply sit back and enjoy the humor. Alceste (Kevin Cox) is the misanthrope, a man so disillusioned by the insincerity, flattery, and back-stabbing of society that he has resolved to turn his back on all mankind and leave the world.  There's only one hitch in his plan: he's in love with Celimene (Kate Cares), a slightly slutty, card-carrying member of the species whose attractiveness to Alceste more or less proves that he, too, is subject to man's ignoble condition.  Philinte (Alex Goodrich), Alceste's loyal but pragmatic friend, tries to help the fanatical Alceste find a more moderate path by pointing out that the world simply could not function if everyone told the truth all of the time.  Alceste is unshakeable in his commitment to probity and runs about telling everyone - no quarter for the powerfully connected - precisely what he thinks about them.  The ensuing confusion, assorted love triangles and parade of intrigues have kept audiences cackling for 350 years - probably never louder than at Greasy Joan's riotously funny production.  Celimene's erstwhile cousin Eliante (Kristina Klemetti), her moralizing faux-pal Arsinoe (Carol Enoch), and a trio of foppish suitors - Oronte, Clitandre, and Acaste (Matthew Sherbach, Dan Behrendt, Carlo Lorenzo Garcia) - round out the cast of characters. The masterpiece status of Molière's "The Misanthrope" is unchallenged, but this translation by Ranjit Bolt (who is a master playwright in his own right) is an achievement of nearly equal genius.  His verse is simultaneously loyal to the classic and, if you can believe it, hip.  Cox's Alceste is a grunge boy guy in an army coat who uses his resonate voice to deliver the lines in a syncopated cadence that is perfectly natural.  His uncanny performance is a likely candidate for a best actor nomination.  And the rest of the cast knows how to deliver a line as well.  Sherbach's closet queen Oronte oogles the overly noble Alceste, delivers his own banal verse, and woos the wily Celimene with equal facility.  Goodrich has the best buddy thing down pat.  He is a wonderful shy admirer to Klemetti's nerdy Eliante and delivers an impression of his pal Alceste - the none-too-easily-imitated Cox - that is one of the funniest moments in the play.    The sexy Cares is delicious as Celimene.  She delivers the character's sexiness and more important, her intelligence.  Molière's strong depiction of females is the exception for theatrical pieces of the period, but clearly one of the strengths that contribute to the show's continuing adaptability.  Hats off to Cares for getting it right. And there are plenty of other hats-offs for this production.  Ford has a clear concept of the show's meaning and its humor and she has managed to meld a cast to it.  She has also gotten out of the way and allowed the uniformly talented cast to make it irreverently funny.  Though there were a few minor problems with uncooperative door latches and insecurely hung decorations on opening night, Kevin Depinets, clever box set puts the show in the perfect ambiguous locale.  It is a slightly rundown apartment with a combination of period French and things that could have come from Ikea.  The effect is reminiscent of the television show Friends and is perfect for this group of 20-somethings who are trying to make their way through life around - but not in - the royal court.  Lindsey Pate's over-the-top costumes are 100% poly-camp zoot-suit blends that would crack smiles even if no one uttered a word onstage.  Greasy Joan and Co.'s The Misanthrope is a fast-paced, witty production that should entertain virtually every theatre lover.  I loved it. The Misanthrope runs through April 5, 2008 at The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport in Chicago.  Showtimes are Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  Tickets are $20 and may be purchased at the Athenaeum box office or through Ticketmaster at 312-902-1500 or www.ticketmaster.com.  To learn more about Greasy Joan & Co. check out www.greasyjoan.org.   About Randy Hardwick Randy Hardwick is an educator and sometime theatre critic.  He is a former member of the Drama Critics' Circle in Denver, Colorado where he published several entertainment related magazines and hosted The Heavyweights of Gambling, a weekly radio call-in show about casino gaming.  During the 1980's Randy was president of Tracks International, a nightclub chain renowned for its high-energy clubs in Denver and on the East Coast.  Hardwick first came to Chicago in 1999 and recently returned to his beloved Rogers Park neighborhood following three years of teaching at a university in Mexico.     Moliere With an Edge Review by Alan Bresloff Greasy Joan and Co. takes on some very classical theater but with a cutting edge attitude and while they keep maturing as a company, they have got to seek a better venue.  Their current production, Moliere's "The Misanthrope" is supposed to be about 2 hours with an intermission.  Act One is 1 1/2 hours (sans intermission) and thank goodness Act Two is less than an hour.  But the Studio at The Athenaeum Theatre has a very tiny seating area with leg room for the typical 9 year old, so needless to say intermission was a welcome sight (and it is not often I am excited to stand and stretch). This translation by Ranjit Bolt of Moliere's comedy about love and society (in particular the upper class) is well cast and well directed.  The set by Kevin Depinet is charming (although a few pieces fell during the first scene on opening night) with an invisible wall (or it it a window) that is avoided until the second act when it becomes "gone".  All of a sudden the actors just walk through the area that was avoided in the first almost two hours.  I think doing this caused the audience to lose some focus while they tried to figure out if this was intentional, or just a slip-up.  The play deals with a woman who it seems all of the upper class men want and then Alceste (a brilliant interpretation by Kevin Cox) who represents Moliere and his mocking the aristocratic life he was destined to live (and didn't). Alceste is in love with Celimene (the delightful Kate Cares) who it appears has everyman after her, even though she is a member of the society that he hates.  Through a lot of misunderstandings and many comic moments, director Libby Ford gets her messages (and that of the playwright and translator) to the audience loud and clear.  The three other suitors are all foppish and a total opposite of what Moliere wanted to be.  I will say that the duo of Carlo Lorenzo Garcia and Dan Behrendt have some very funny moments.  If one did not know better though one might wonder if they were trying to woo Celimene or each other. The third of the "gentlemen" Oronte is played almost PeeWee Hermanish by Matthew Sherbach.  The other characters are Alex Goodrich as Philinte, Alceste's best friend (he is quite the comic, but there were a few times where it seemed as though he was watching the play with us and fell out of character), Arsinoe (Carol Enoch), and Eliante, cousin to Celimene (delightfully played by Kristina Klementi).  One must pay close attention to the dialogue in this play as much of it has rhyme.  If one loses focus, one can miss some of the misunderstandings, missed opportunities and who is with who, but wants to be with who?  Confused?  That's Moliere!