'Imaginary Invalid' premieres tonight

The story of a hypochondriac and those trying to save him from himself is told through physically demanding performances in Friday’s premiere of “The Imaginary Invalid.”

Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre, with additional showings next week.

“Imaginary Invalid,” a comédie-ballet, first premiered in 1673 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.

The satire tells the story of a hypochondriac named Argan and chronicles his many attempts to cure himself of his imaginary illnesses.

Despite constant reminders of his health, Argan can’t be convinced and even tries to force his daughter to marry a doctor.

Josh Krause, a second-year M.F.A. student who plays Argan, said he was drawn to the obscurity of the storyline and his character’s complete belief that he is deathly ill.
“Everyone else is separately trying to save him from himself, and yet no one ever really succeeds in getting him to accept that about himself,” Krause said.

Director Gavin Cameron-Webb, who previously directed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Richard III” for IU Theater, modernized certain aspects of “Invalid” to relate to
today’s health care industry.

“I hope they take away the director’s vision for the play that not everything can be solved with a pill,” Krause said.

With the large amount of movement that takes place on stage, “Invalid” has proven to be physically taxing for Krause.

“It’s a constant battle of not running completely out of breath because then you can’t serve the text,” he said. “It’s about finding a balance between the physical and
vocal demands.”

Senior Courtney Lucien plays Angélique, Argan’s daughter and the center of a love triangle.

Lucien said she was immediately drawn to her character.

“I love ingénue characters with a twist,” she said. “I wanted to experiment with how different she could be as a stock character.”

Lucien said although she has found some challenges come with a period piece like “Invalid,” she admires Angélique’s spirit when it comes to love.

“She’s a strong, sassy young woman who’s on a mission, and she won’t let society or her father get in the way,” she said. “She believes that nothing will stand in the way of her getting the love of her life, which, hilariously, is a guy she met a week ago.”

Lucien said because of the physical and visual nature of the show, audiences will get most of the story’s humor from the things they see.

However, she and the other actors still had to find reality within the humor and portray their characters as real people.

“It can’t just be funny to be funny,” Krause said. “There has to be some real determination that each character’s fighting for.”

Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.