By Matthew Wexler
“The only time I feel alive is when I’m sick!” exclaims Argan, the hypochondriacally inclined central character in The Imaginary Invalid, now playing Off-Broadway in Red Bull Theater’s temperamental revival.
Ironically, in 1673, playwright-actor Molière collapsed during the play’s fourth performance and was taken home to his residence on the Rue de Richelieu, where he later died. The French theatermaker had wanted to be a serious actor, apparently even in his final moments.
The play, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and directed by Red Bull artistic director Jesse Berger, while entertaining in fits and starts, fails to find a precise theatrical diagnosis.
In the title role, TV actor and Broadway vet Mark Linn-Baker knows how to land (and take) a punch line, but at the performance I attended, his pacing and energy lacked the stakes of a man insistent he’s on the verge of death.
Argan’s co-conspirators include a dry-witted maid (Sarah Stiles), a trifecta of doctors (a chameleon-like, Paul Lynde-inspired Arnie Burton), and a dim-witted medical student (Russell Daniels) introduced as part of an arranged marriage to Argan’s daughter (Emilie Kouatchou), who has her eys on a more virile lover (John Yi)
Throw in Argan’s conniving second wife (Emily Swallow) and her manipulative lover (Manoel Felciano), and you have an infectious case of “what about me?!” in which each petulant character tries to outdo the next.
The Imaginary Invalid, much like Molière’s other works, explores social structures and infidelity through satire and exaggerated physicality (there’s lots of enema jokes and butt massages). While there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, as a whole, the company doesn’t necessarily deliver a remedy for the dark times we’re living in, but it’s a pleasant enough painkiller. And at 85 minutes, there’s no fear of suffering from Argan’s diagnosis of glutial amnesia (aka dead butt).
Red Bull Theater’s The Imaginary Invalid plays Off-Broadway at New World Stages through June 29.
‘The Imaginary Invalid’ takeaway
If you think Argan is confused about his health, he’s no match for U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose recent “Make America Healthy Report” included non-existent studies, no attributed authorship, and questionable formatting that some allege was completed with artificial intelligence.
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