"I Hate Everyone"
by Gary Duehr
A verse adaptation of "The Misanthrope" by Moliere
Saturday, March 21, 3 pm
Please join us for a free staged reading of my verse play "I Hate Everyone." After the 90-minute reading, there will be a brief feedback session.
Based on "The Misanthrope," Moliere's1666 comedy, "I Hate Everyone" is set in the swampy politics of contemporary Washington, DC. The title character's loathing of hypocrisy and lies (and fake news) echoes the original's scathing satire.
AL
There’s nothing I detest so much as lobbyists
Who regulate themselves, K-Street contortionists
Whose ethics twist in knots; who always fly first class
To stay above the fray—then kick you in the ass
If you subpoena them. When someone piles on praise
So lavishly, without reserve, it's all cliches.
He vows that he's your ally; says he finds your ideas
Original, so new; for your career he is
A wild enthusiast, and shouts you to the skies—
But he’ll spew out the same to anyone likewise.
Hell no! No one who has the slightest self-esteem
Would let himself be pimped like that; it’s too extreme
To spout hyperbole to half the glitterati.
It's meaningless at best, a verbal hari kari.
To say you love us all, means that you love no one.
You can’t just make it up, based on your opinion.
CAST
(Moliere's original names in italics)
AL: Joshua Lee Robinson (Alceste), the title misanthrope who hates society's hypocrisy and lies, but who has a blind spot in his affection for SAM.
PHIL: Nathan Arroyo (Philinte), AL's best friend from childhood, who urges reason and going along with social norms.
SAM: Parker Jennings (Celimene), the magnetic center about whom everyone revolves; she is flirtatious and strong-minded with a savage wit, more than a match for AL.
LIZ: Theresa Peterson (Eliante), SAM's cousin; she is straightforward and articulate, and she admires AL's honesty.
GARRETT: Brooks Reeves (Oronte), an aspiring poet and one of SAM's many suitors.
CHARLEY: Geof Newton (Acaste), another of SAM's suitors, who has a healthy ego; a super-agent who is very well connected.
ANDRE: Tim Jackson (Clitandre), yet another of SAM's suitors, a lawyer who's a power broker behind the scenes.
ZOE: Lesley Bannatyne (Arsinoe), SAM's "friend," though several years older; she's a far-right talk show host.
BLAKE, PROCESS SERVER, DREW: Mary Curtin ((Basque), SAM's assistant; (A Guard), who serves court papers; (Dubois), AL's aide, a comic bumbling figure.
Questions? Email Gary Duehr: gdu...@comcast.net
www.garyduehr.com
