Molière (play)

Molière is a 1919 play written by Philip Moeller, who subtitled it "A Romantic Play in Three Acts".[1] It has a medium-sized cast, moderate pacing, and two sets; Acts I and III share the same set. Some of the play's characters are historical, figures from the French court of the 1670s. The first two acts have a single scene, while the third has a curtain drop to signal the passage of two hours time. The play shows a few scenes from the twilight of Molière, as he loses the favor of Louis XIV but retains his independence.

Molière
Written byPhilip Moeller
Directed byHenry Miller
Date premieredMarch 17, 1919 (1919-03-17)
Place premieredLiberty Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SubjectCharacter study of Molière
GenreHistorical romance
SettingTheatre of the Palais-Royal, Sep 1672-Feb 1673

The play has an atypical approach for Moeller, who usually wrote historical satires that some critics said verged on burlesque.[2] Also unusual was Moeller's reduced involvement with the original production. At the time he was wrapped up with staging the first Theatre Guild productions. Instead, Molière was shaped for the stage by producer-director Henry Miller, who also played the eponymous lead. Moeller acknowledged Miller's creative contribution in the dedication for the published play.[3]

Characters

Characters are listed in order of appearance within their scope.

Lead

Supporting

  • Baron — a seventeen year old member of Molière's company.
  • La Forest — a sixty-eight-year-old woman, cook and friend to Molière.
  • Colinge — an old actor, with Molière since the beginning.
  • De Luzon — a young courtier.[fn 1]
  • La Fontaine — the writer of the fables.
  • Giovanni Lulli — a court musician, a rival to Molière for the royal favor.[fn 2]
  • Claude Chapelle — a friend to Molière.
  • The Actress Who Plays Toniette — A lead player in the third act's The Imaginary Invalid.[fn 3]

Featured

  • The King's Chamberlin.
  • Hercules — a black page to Madame de Montespan.[fn 4]
  • First Lady in Waiting.
  • Second Lady in Waiting.
  • Lackey — This is a non-speaking role in the published text.
  • A Doctor.
  • Second Actress — A player in the third act's The Imaginary Invalid.

Walk-on

  • Courtiers and Ladies-in-Waiting, Actors and Actresses.

Synopsis
Act Scene Setting Action
I 1 Molière's study in his theatre in the Palais-Royal, a September morning in 1672. Introduces the four leads and several other characters. Molière has already written The Misanthrope, and still enjoys the king's favor, despite complaints from the clergy about Tartuffe. He seems to be blessed, but there are rumors about his young wife, whom he adores.
II 1 The apartments of Madame de Montespan at the Louvre Palace, at twilight on the same day. Françoise has invited both Molière and Armande to her apartments, unbeknownst to each other. Armande is encouraged to visit with her secret lover De Luzon, while Mme. de Montespan tries to entice Molière. When he refuses out of loyalty to the king and love for his wife, she shows him the latter dallying in the garden beneath the balcony. The king returns unexpectedly; he is angry to find Molière and Françoise together. Françoise repeats a lie of Giovanni Lulli, that Molière has written a play satirizing Françoise, her husband, and the king. The king withdraws his favor from Molière, who responds by switching his loyalty from monarch to the nation.
III 1 Molière's study in his theatre in the Palais-Royal; about 4pm on February 17, 1673. Chapelle, La Fontaine, and La Forest lament Molière's downfall; his wife left him, the withdrawal of the king's favor means his audiences are now sparse and semi-hostile, and his health has deteriorated. But when Molière appears, he still insists on performing his latest comedy, The Imaginary Invalid.
2 Molière's study in his theatre in the Palais-Royal; two hours later. During the fourth performance of The Imaginary Invalid Molière's faltering physical condition provokes jeers from the audience, which he thinks are plaudits. Meanwhile, Colinge has persuaded Armande to have the king restore favor to Molière. Backstage, Molière collapses even as Armande arrives to embrace him. The king and his chamberlain arrive to bestow the royal amity, but they come too late: Molière is dead.

Original production

Background

A newspaper columnist reported in December 1918 that Henry Miller, just coming off of a flop, was looking for a new play to produce, adding that "Blanche Bates and Holbrook Blinn are in the same boat".[4] Whether coincidence or not, within two months all three would start rehearsals for Molière.[5] Henry Miller, whose pockets were deeper and who had a larger company than the other two actor-managers, wound up producing and staging Moeller's play. Estelle Winwood, Forrest Robinson, and Sidney Herbert were also reported in early February 1919 to have been signed by Henry Miller.[6]

The sets were by Lee Simonson; the costumes by Rollo Peters, made by Mme. Freisinger; incidental music was composed by Cassius Freeborn.[7]

Tryouts and revisions

Molière had its first tryout at Ford's Grand Opera House in Baltimore, on February 24, 1919, where it played for a week.[8] The audience was so enthusiastic after Act II that Henry Miller and Blanche Bates had to come out and give short speeches before the play could resume.[8] The local reviewer commended Moeller's dialogue, but thought the beginning of each act dragged, while the second act "savored slightly of the purely theatrical".[8]

The production then went to the Broad Theatre in Philadelphia, opening on March 3, 1919.[9] Moeller was able to attend this opening, and received as big a hand after the second act as the leading actors.[9] A local critic thought it good that Moeller was willing to take a chance on a more serious work, though the first act was "sketchy", a mere prelude to the slender plot.[9] They summed up the play as being "...richer in rhetoric than drama".[9]

Cast
Cast during the tryouts and original Broadway run
Role Actor Dates Notes
Armande Béjart Estelle Winwood Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 Though already thirty-seven she was able to play the twenty-year old Armande in convincing fashion.[8]
Molière Henry Miller Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [8]
Louis XIV Holbrook Blinn Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [8]
Françoise Blanche Bates Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [8]
Baron James P. Hagen Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
La Forest Alice Gale Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 Of all the supporting actors Gale consistently drew the most critical appreciation.[8]
Colinge Forrest Robinson Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
The King's Chamberlin Willard Barton Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
La Fontaine Sidney Herbert Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
Claude Chapelle Vincent Chambers Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
De Luzon Frederick Roland Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
Hercules Remo Bufano Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 He was a mime with the Washington Square Players, later had his own marionette troupe.[10]
Giovanni Lulli Paul Doucet Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
First Lady-in-Waiting Mary Pyne Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
Second Lady-in-Waiting Marjorie Card Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
Lackey William Robins Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]
A Doctor Wallace Roberts Feb 24, 1919 - May 10, 1919 [10]

Premiere

Originally intended for Henry Miller's Theater,[fn 5] Molière instead had its Broadway premiere on March 17, 1919, at Klaw and Erlanger's Liberty Theatre. Heywood Broun reported the climatic moment of Molière's death scene was marred by the sound of auto horns coming from the streets outside.[2] A growing problem in the theater district, Broun suggested legal curtailment of the horns even if at the expense of a few pedestrians: "After all, there are so many people and so few good plays".[2]

Reception

The critics liked Molière in spite of its weak drama. Charles Darnton, recalling Madame Sand, thought Moeller "very clever as a grave-digger".[11] Darnton accorded acting honors to Blanche Bates' royal mistress, with nods to Alice Gale's La Forest and Sidney Herbert's La Fontaine. The Brooklyn Citizen also thought Bates' performance the best of the night.[12] The Sun thought Bates' second act and Miller's third act performances excellent, and saluted Holbrook Blinn for keeping Louis XIV from looking ridiculous, but felt Moeller's writing "the most interesting element of the evening".[13]

Heywood Broun remarked that with Moeller's writing the "great comedian appears as a man practically devoid of humor", though he didn't regard this as a fault.[2] John Corbin pointed out Molière's unsatisfied ambition to appear in a drama had now been fulfilled by Moeller's play.[10] Corbin also thought the play too "literesque" but "intelligently so", and was enthused about the scenery, costumes, Alice Gale, and the lead actors.[10] Broun was enthusiastic only about Blanche Bates' performance. He felt Henry Miller's acting was inconsistent and Estelle Winwood more satisfying to the eye than the ear. Holbrook Blinn's acting was admirable, but the royal neck was too short for the regicide in Broun.[10] Flippant though his first night review may read, Broun thought strongly enough about the play to write a two-column article about it a few days later.[14]

Closing

The play's Broadway run closed on May 10, 1919, at the Liberty Theatre.[15] Two nights before, an audience member had slumped from his seat to die on the floor, perhaps in sympathy with Molière and the play.[16]

Touring company

Producer-director Henry Miller chose to begin touring on the West Coast, starting with Los Angeles.[fn 6] Molière opened for a one-week run at the Mason Opera House on July 7, 1919.[17] It then went to the Potter Theatre in Santa Barbara,[18] and the Colombia Theater in San Francisco.[19] The tour swung through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska before returning east to play Boston, finishing at the Standard Theatre in Brooklyn on November 8, 1919.[20]

Cast
Cast during the post Broadway tour
Role Actor Dates Notes
Armande Béjart Catherine Doucet Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 She was the wife of Paul Doucet, who played Giovanni Lulli.[17]
Molière Henry Miller Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [17]
Louis XIV David Glassford Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [17]
Françoise Blanche Bates Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [17]
Baron James P. Hagen Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
La Forest Alice Gale Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
Colinge Forrest Robinson Jul 07, 1919 - [19]
George Farren Oct 06, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [21]
The King's Chamberlin Paul Gaston Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
La Fontaine Sidney Herbert Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
Claude Chapelle Vincent Chambers Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
De Luzon Frederick Roland Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
Hercules Frank Longacre Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
Giovanni Lulli Paul Doucet Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
First Lady-in-Waiting Elsie Frederic Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
Second Lady-in-Waiting Florence Busby Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
Lackey William Robins Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]
A Doctor Wallace Roberts Jul 07, 1919 - Nov 08, 1919 [19]

Notes
  1. The spelling of this name in theatre programs, newspapers, and even in the published text varied between the form shown and "De Lauzon".
  2. Moeller's interpretation of this real-life figure is ahistorical.
  3. Despite a fair amount of lines, this role was uncredited in program guides and reviews.
  4. As was common at the time, the role was played in blackface by white actors.
  5. The broad comedy Mis' Nelly of N'Orleans, which starred the Louisiana-born Mrs. Fiske, ran longer than expected because she donated hundreds of seats to returning veterans from that state.
  6. This was very unusual; most Broadway touring itineraries started with Chicago or other large midwestern cities. The rationale was the looming Actors' Equity Association strike that would close venues in the East and Midwest, but would not impact the West Coast.

References
  1. Philip Moeller (1919). Molière: A Romantic Play in Three Acts. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 2.
  2. Broun, Heywood (March 18, 1919). ""Moliere" at the Liberty Has Warm Welcome from Audience". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Philip Moeller (1919). Molière: A Romantic Play in Three Acts. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 4. Gratefully to Henry Miller with thanks for his sympathetic help in the making of my play
  4. "Flabbergast's Dramatic Chat". Star-News. Elmira, New York. December 16, 1918. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Theatrical Notes". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. February 6, 1919. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Theatre Notes". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. February 10, 1919. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Philip Moeller (1919). Molière: A Romantic Play in Three Acts. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 6.
  8. "Ford's". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. February 25, 1919. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ""Moliere" Richer in Rhetoric than Drama". The Evening Public Ledger. March 4, 1919. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Corbin, John (March 18, 1919). "Drama". The New York Times. New York, New York. p. 11 – via NYTimes.com.
  11. Darnton, Charles (March 18, 1919). "The New Plays". The Evening World. New York, New York. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ""Moliere" Wins at the Liberty". Brooklyn Citizen. Brooklyn, New York. March 18, 1919. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ""Moliere" Appears as Stage Triumph". The Sun. New York, New York. March 18, 1919. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Broun, Heywood (March 23, 1919). ""Moliere" New Vein in Philip Moeller". New York Tribune. New York, New York. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Theatre Notes". Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. May 8, 1919. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Salesman Drops Dead in Theatre". New York Herald. New York, New York. May 9, 1919. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Schallert, Edwin (July 8, 1919). "Drama". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Potter Theatre (ad)". Santa Barbara Daily News. Santa Barbara, California. July 16, 1919. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. Nunan, Thomas (July 22, 1919). "'Moliere' Is Brilliant New Comedy". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Successes Seen Anew". New York Herald. New York, New York. November 4, 1919. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ""Moliere" Acted at the Hollis". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. October 7, 1919. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
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