On August 29, 2005, Theater Three opened a wonderfully rowdy, frenetic Moliere chestnut, The Imaginary Invalid, with a new translation in mostly rhyming couplets by T3 co-founding artistic director, Jac Alder. Some of the rhymes miss their mark, but why quibble about an otherwise joyous production?
The story is about Argan (Doug Jackson), a wealthy hypochondriac. To save money in his habit of consulting doctors frequently, he conspires to marry off his daughter, Angelique (Arianna Movassagh), to a newly minted doctor, Thomas (Michael Speck) the dull-witted son of one of his current quacks. Angelique enlists the help of her father's maid, Toinette (Amy Mills) to foil Argan's plan and help Angelique marry her true love, Cleante (Lee Trull). A sub-plot involves Argan's young second wife, Beline (Caitlin Tiffany Glass) and her scheme to send his two daughters to a convent in order to get all of Argan's money.
This production of An Imaginary Invalid is a family affair, as Argan, Toinette, and younger daughter, Louisan (12-year old Abigail Jackson) are a real-life family unit.
Doug Jackson goes a bit over-the-top as Argan, channeling former T3 mainstay Larry O'Dwyer. The real scene stealer is Amy Mills, who manages to be all over the stage at once in a madcap tour-de-force.
Alder, as director, has assembled a top cast of Theater Three favorites plus a few new faces. The staging is seamless, and his set design (Alder is a professionally trained architect) proves well-suited to T3s arena stage.
