THE MISANTHROPE

I've been a fan of director Ivo van Hove ever since I was enthralled by his controversial production of More Stately Mansions at the New York Theatre Workshop. I haven't managed to see everything he's done there since then, though I caught his Streetcar Named Desire some years ago and just saw The Misanthrope earlier this month.

Van Hove is an aggressively artistic director who has a knack for tapping into the richness written into theater works while simultaneously making them "his own" with a variety of flourishes, some of them very physical. If memory serves, he had characters wrestle naked (or nearly naked) while delivering their lines in More Stately Mansions. It was a fascinating ploy, and one could see that it was literally bruising, too. In Streetcar there was the big bathtub...and lots and lots of splashing water.

With The Misanthrope there's some physicality, but it seemed constrained compared to what I saw in More Stately Mansions. Food and "trash" wind up all over the stage and the actors, but what made the biggest impression on me was its use of technology—especially video. Van Hove uses handheld cameras to enhance the stage experience, enabling a character to speak with his back to the audience and yet still have his face be seen on a large screen. Ultimately, though, Van Hove seems to making thought-provoking associations with sensational TV talk shows, reality programming such as Big Brother, and, perhaps, a general intrusion of communications media throughout many ordinary lives.

The production was the least impressive of the three van Hove pieces I've seen so far but it was still worthwhile, with some jaw-dropping moments. It's especially worthwhile with $20 Sunday night tickets, which might still be available. Try to get a seat in the back half of the audience, away from any fidgety and talkative kids.

Here's an interview/slideshow from The New York Times.