Brooklyn's acclaimed Brave New World Repertory Theatre kicks off its new season with an updated production of The Miser by Moliere, presented over three weeks (January 6-21) at the Grand Prospect Hall in Park Slope.
Known as Moliere's darkest comedy, The Miser is as a grim fable for our times, says Brave New World producing artistic director Shannon Sindelar. "The play is surprisingly apropos for today, a harsh indictment wrapped in pastel-colored candy coating," she says. "Our contemporary take, re-imagined as a fable about the 1% and performed in modern dress, shines a spotlight on the economic dependency of a new generation of 20- and 30-somethings still living at home with their parents and consequently under their thumb. The formal old-world opulence of The Grand Prospect Hall sits in unsettled juxtaposition against the contemporary viewpoint."
Directed by Alice Reagan, Moliere's The Miser will strengthen Brave New World's mission to produce rejuvenated classic plays for Brooklyn audiences. Sindelar says "The Miser couldn't be more timely in its subject matter, and we're keen to highlight thematic connections for a modern audience."
Written in 1668 at the beginning of the market economy, The Miser sits almost too easily in 2014, when movements the world over are forecasting capitalism's collapse. This Brooklyn production will pit the DIY youth culture that eschews unbridled capitalism and is deeply suspicious of the 1%, against the aging robber baron/miser Harpagon. Brave New World's production will explore how Moliere's play puts the lie to capitalist promise of equality and opportunity for all. Instead, Harpagon's greed affects everyone in his life, forcing their use of subterfuge to fight their way to happiness. Here lies the comedy, and Moliere's moral: unbound avarice poisons the family, and the society at large. Moliere shows us how too much money dehumanizes, and in the end, Harpagon, a human adding machine, gets what he deserves.
With: Brian Argotsinger*, Ezra Barnes*, Milo Cramer, Alex Katz, Lorenzo Landini, Catherine Mancuso, Tara Pacheco, Nick Plakias*, Caroline Ryburn*, Marshall York*
Scenic Design: Anna Yates; Lighting Design: Josh Smith; Sound Design: Erik T. Lawson; Costume Design: Martina Nevermann; Production Stage Manager: Sophie Frankle
*Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association
