His second problem is Celine. She is young and beautiful, an acid-tongued gossip and outrageous flirt. She says what everyone wants to hear, and so is always the center of attention. She should be exactly what Alex despises. Nevertheless, he is hopelessly in love with her. And sometimes she seems to be in love with him.
So begins Hater, a 21st century translation of the classic Moliere comedy “The Misanthrope.” Its west coast premiere opens February 28 for two weekends at Gist Hall Theatre.
Dell’Arte Producing Artistic Director Michael Fields directs this Humboldt State Dept. of Theatre, Film & Dance production. Inspired by a Ralph Lauren extravaganza he saw in Versailles, the stage is a fashion show runway, with the audience seated around it.
“It’s fast and furious, physical and funny,” Fields said. “But it’s also a love story.”
The lovers are star-crossed, not in their circumstances, but in their characters. “Alex is an iconoclast, but Celine is a social animal,” Fields said. “These are young characters, and these are obsessions that are as much a part of being young today as they were in Moliere’s time.”
Fields notes that for all the high style and four letter words, “this is human comedy, and Moliere got to the heart of that.”
The production features Charlie Heinberg as Alex and Johani Guerrero as Celine. Also in the cast are Mark Teeter, Brodie Storey, Galen Poulton, Luke Tooker, Michelle Purnell, Andreina Loaiza, Adrienne Ralsten and Derek Burns. Rae Robison designed the set and costumes, Telfer Reynolds designed lighting and sound.
This translation is by New York-based director Samuel Buggeln, who will be on the HSU campus for the final weekend of the production. Of his translation, University of Southern California professor Jody Enders wrote, “This is not your grandmother’s Moliere … Le Misanthrope has never been more alive, more fun, more contemporary, more eternal.”
The West Coast premiere of Hater is presented in Gist Hall Theatre Feb. 28-March 2, and March 7-9 at 7:30 p.m., and March 3 and 10 at 2 p.m. Directed by Michael Fields, produced by HSU Dept. of Theatre, Film & Dance. Tickets are $10 and $8, with limited number of free seats to HSU students at each performance from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. For more information visit HSUStage.blogspot.com.