Review of Catalyst Theatre Company's The Learned Ladies

Catalyst Theater Company Wit, rather than mere comedy, is a rare commodity on stage today but it is in abundance in Jeffery Skidmore’s staging of Moliére’s 1659 skewering of upper class pretensions. Under his direction, the excellent cast brings intelligence, style and energy for a fast paced but never frenetic performance. It provides just the right amount of time to savor individual lines and twisted development but moves right along without seeming to pause for effect. The result is an evening with more laughs and more smile inducing moments than many contemporary comedies.

Storyline: Henriette has a domineering mother, a dominated father, a jealous older sister and a truly strange aunt, but she has found true love with her older sister’s rejected suitor. They want to wed but her choice of groom becomes a contest between her parents and subterfuge is required to bring about the desired end.

The translation of Moliére’s 1659 comedy by Richard Wilbur provides Skidmore’s cast with crystal clear verse and they make the most of it. Well constructed verse like this helps rather than hinders the communication of meaning while adding layers of humor and imagery. For many performers, however, it is difficult to avoid slipping into a sort of sing-song rhythm which can damage the delicate creation of the poet. That all of the performers in the cast successfully avoid the trap must be credited to director Skidmore both in his coaching and in his casting.

Peter Wylie and Diane Cooper-Gould make a convincing central pair of lovers while Tim Carlin’s alternation between in-command head of the house to hopelessly henpecked husband is hilarious. Ellen Young is wildly wacky as the self-absorbed aunt, while Cam Magee is a tower of righteous ego as the mother and Jessee Terrill stops just short of overdoing the officiousness of the pretentious poet she has selected for her daughter’s hand. Terrill also provided the original music for the production including two tracks reminiscent of Henry Mancini at his wittiest in his Pink Panther scores. Skidmore uses these tracks as background for some sublime silent bits.

Adam Magazine’s sleek set places the action in a modern Los Angeles where intellectual pretensions are hardly unknown and Kate Turner-Walker provides costumes that are as slyly humorous as many of the nicer bon mots of Wilbur’s rendering of Moliér. Carlin’s Garfield-the-cat slippers, Young’s high-end casual ensembles and Eduardo Placer’s entire wardrobe as first houseboy then exercise coach then lawyer are a kick but Turner-Walker avoids going overboard, exercising just the right amount of restraint with the severe look for Magee and a would-be-wedding dress that is just right for Cooper-Gould.