The Imaginary Invalid
Play Description
Love is funny. Love is trickery. Love is … smelly? It's certainly a merry-go-round of misplaced desires and hidden agendas in Constance Congdon's fresh and hilarious new take on Molière's skewering of a health-care crisis from an entirely different century. To quell his growing pile of medical bills, Monsieur Argan, a chronic hypochondriac, will go to any length to marry his daughter off to a doctor. Of course, his daughter has other ideas. A narcotic cocktail of romantic triangles, double entendres, and mistaken identities ensues, promising to leave you gasping, giggling, and possibly … in stitches.
Production Info
Cast: 9 total (3 female, 6 male)Full Length Comedy (about 110 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
- Productions
Press Quotes
“Molière penned his final play, the slapstick comedy THE IMAGINARY INVALID more than 450 years ago, and it is not only amazing that this lesser-known play still stands the test of time, but how visionary this comedy, currently being seen in Constance Congdon’s new adaptation at the American Conservatory Theatre, has become. Or should we really be surprised in this age of plentiful medication — as doctors scribble prescriptions faster than it takes to gulp a handful of pills down with a glass of water — that THE IMAGINARY INVALID feels as relevant today as it did when healers swore by snake oil and holy water rather than Nexium and Zoloft? Moreover, Congdon has folded in a healthy dose of present-day nuances and innuendos, as well as beefed up the plot. The result is an entertaining and jovial romp … The great Frenchman’s last contribution to the world’s stage — he died onstage while playing Argan — proves that time has stood still when it comes to the eternal nature of the hypochondriac.” —TheaterMania.com, Tiffany Maleshefski
“Lean, clean and comically bent … a bright evening of amusement and occasional hilarity.” —Variety, Dennis Harvey
Book Information
Publisher | BPPI |
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Publication Date | 2/5/2016 |
Pages | 80 |
ISBN | 9780881456097 |
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
World Premiere by the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in 2007, San Francisco, CA
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypublishing.com