MY MEMORY:  I first encountered Neil Bartlett's terrific verse adaptation of Moliere's great play when it was published in American Theatre. It brilliantly transported the formal court of Louis XIV into a modern Hollywood film studio, yet retained the rhymed couplets and six-beat verse form of classical French drama. It was everything I wanted in a translation of Moliere -- faithful yet fresh, stylish, intelligent, and devilishly witty.  It challenged and stretched me as a director in so many ways, and was one of the most creative times I ever had collaborating with designers.  It's at the top of my list of plays I'd love to direct again. 

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MOLIERE COMEDY WORKS WELL IN MODERN HOLLYWOOD SETTING.  Transporting Moliere's comedy from the society of Louis XIV to present-day Hollywood is an idea that works. It has everything going for it including Neil Bartlett's brilliant translation/adaptation.

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Bob Phillips's set, an airy living room with a sweeping view of the Hollywood Hills pushes chic grandeur to heights Louis XIV might have envied. Mimi Maxmen's witty costumes blaze with super-saturated colors.

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At the heart of the play lies the relationship between Celimene and Alceste, and here all the complexities shine through. The rich texture of the verse, the artificiality of its rhymes, remind us that this is theatre.  The play itself penetrates the mystery of the heart.  --Cleveland Plain Dealer

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