By Mario Montalvo/ne news editor
NE drama students and guest director John Dennis are breathing new life into Moliére’s The Miser.
“I’ve done this play before, but the play is so universal, it has a different resonance whatever decade or year it’s done in,” said Dennis, Louisiana State University professor emeritus. “And right now, it has an incredible resonance.”
The comedy, which was originally set in Paris in the 1660s, takes place in New Orleans in the 1920s and ’30s.
The play centers on Harpagon, the miser, played by NE drama instructor Jakie Cabe, and his two children. Harpagon wants his children to marry for money, but they have secret plans to run away with their lovers.
Dennis described Harpagon as “the tightest man in the world.”
“He’s so cheap, he saves his earwax to polish furniture,” he said.
Michael Spencer, who plays Cléante, Harpagon’s son, said his character is as eccentric as he is.
“I’m energetic, and I can’t stay in one place for too long. I like to play up what I’m talking about all the time, and Cléante is the same way,” he said. “The character’s energy and my own energy actually make a lot of sense.”
Felicia Taylor plays Élise, Harpagon’s daughter and Cléante’s sister.
When Taylor first read the role, Élise came off as a damsel in distress, but she didn’t want that for her character.
“My Élise is strong like me,” she said. “I don’t need a man to bring me down.”
Élise’s lover Valère is played by Josh Phipps.
Phipps said he has nothing in common with his character, so he had to learn to remove himself from his character.
“It’s not me on stage,” he said. “It’s this person.”
Dennis hopes people will come to see the play because “it’s really funny and it’s pertinent.”
“I would like to see waiting lines,” he said. “I’m used to getting them at LSU.”
The Miser opens Oct. 5 and runs through Oct. 8.
Tickets are $6 for general admission, $4 for seniors and non-TCC students and free for TCC students, faculty and staff. Showtimes are 7 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. Call 817-515-6687 for reservations.
