Molière in the Park: Don Juan
About This Event
A dance staging of Molière's Don Juan will be presented in Prospect Park. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known as Molière, wrote comedies, farces, tragicomedies and comédie-ballets—works that historically combined spoken theatre and dance—so a dance rendering of Don Juan connects to a strand of his theatrical practice and performance history.
About Don Juan(play)
Dom Juan ou le Festin de Pierre is a five-act 1665 comedy by Molière based upon the Spanish legend of Don Juan Tenorio. The aristocrat Dom Juan is a rake who, while charming and intelligent, moves from woman to woman, seducing and ruining them. He confides in his servant Sganarelle who acts as a weak and ineffective voice of conscience trying to tame his master's vices. Before the play has begun, Dom Juan has already slain the Commander and seduced Donna Elvira, a noble lady, away from her vows to the Church, yet abandoned her rather than marry her. Dom Juan and Sganarelle navigate society as he tries to continue his conquests while attempting to evade any responsibility or debt.
About the Artist
Molière
Molière is the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a French playwright and actor whose comedies and hybrid stage works helped define early modern theater. Many of his plays were built to accommodate movement as well as text, making dance a natural route back into his world.