"Really, it is no small anxiety to keep by one a large sum of money," remarks Harpagon in Moli?re's acerbic comedy "The Miser," which director Ricky Graham is transplanting from 17th century Paris to 1960s New Orleans ? France to the French Quarter, a journey featuring plenty of songfull mischief.
Indeed, in this musical transformation the piece even has a new title: "The Money Box," which refers not only to Harpagon's stash of golden crowns but to a less-than-fully-respectable establishment he operates along ? where else? ? Bourbon Street.
With a book and lyrics by Graham and Sean Patterson, and music by Jefferson Turner, "The Money Box" runs March 8-17 in Marquette Hall on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans. The production is a partnership between Loyola's music, dance and theater programs, growing out of previous collaborations involving Graham as a stage director.
Though Loyola officials at first considered existing works, "I thought it would be fun to do something original," Graham said in a recent interview. The idea was to craft "a musical version of something that would probably be on a college syllabus."
Moli?re certainly fits that description. While most people are likely more familiar with such comedies as "Tartuffe" and "The Misanthrope," attention still deserves to be paid to "The Miser," which had its premiere in 1668.
"We went through several different Moli?re plays," Graham recalled, "and we all decided that 'The Miser' would be the most fun to do. We didn't want to play that had so many older characters that it would look awkward for all these young people to play (them)... period gave us those characters' voices."
The flavor is unmistakably local. "Some of the music has a very R&B feel to it," Graham said, adding that "Harpagon has a New Orleans cadence when he talks." The show's nightclub scenes include a band, backing female vocals and a pervasive delights in tweaking theatrical tradition amid a cast made up almost entirely of undergraduate performers.
"Most of the actors are playing characters their age or little bit older," Graham explained, "so they have an affinity ? wanting to break away from the dominance of their parents, how they wanted to dress, who they wanted to be with" ? issues Moli?re himself treated in the pages of "The Miser.
"We started out with almost a line-by-line reworking of the play," Graham said. "As we added the music, we found that so much what the characters needed to say was taken over by the songs, so we started to edit some of the dialogue out. If you know the original play, you see where everything is coming from: certain tropes and cadences..., Comic bits between characters. It's been distilled into a contemporary feeling, but the basic comic element is Moli?re's."
"One of the elements we did keep directly from Moli?re were the asides to the audience," Graham said. "We've kept that concept because it thought was very funny. It all works together. Everything is coming out of the same box."
The rehearsal process involved no shortage of dialogue changes, evolutions in music and lyrics ? in other words, all the elements customarily tossed about in an original production. Happily, Graham said, "another good thing about having young actors is they seem to be able to retain things quickly... Fortunately for the last two weeks everything is pretty much set."
Producing in an academic environment does have practical advantages. "We have a pretty big staff of students to work on the production," Graham said. "The kids have been terrific. They've worked hard, are energetic and focused."
Performances of "The Money Box" run March 8-17 at various times, all at Marquette Hall on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans, 6363 St. Charles Ave. Tickets are $12 general admission; $8 for students, seniors, faculty and staff. Call 504-865-2074. More information is also available online at Loyola's College of Music and Fine Arts.
Source: http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/03/ricky_graham_channels_moliere.html
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