The Imaginary Invalid

Scenery: Interior

The famous hypochondriac in this classic farce not only complains of a million imaginary ills, but also of his astronomical medical bills. If he marries his daughter to a doctor, he reasons, he will have free medical care. He chooses a double-Latin talking numbskull without consulting the daughter who is already smitten by another. The inventive maid exposes the doctyor and his father as charlatans and demonstrates to the master that his second wife loves his money, not him. Thus are truth and love triumphant and all troubles, real and imaginary, relieved by laughter.

A hypochondriac, victimized by pompous physicians, tests the loyalty of a loving daughter and discovers the contempt of his scheming and greedy second wife. This classic comedy from one of the most brilliant satirists in the history of literature deflates the pretensions of society and reveals the universal frailties of humanity.

New Haven Advocate

Translator Magruder is [known] for his brash injections of present-day lingo into seldom-seen French comedies that had been deemed stuffy' before he got his ink-stained hand on 'em. Anything goes, anything for a laugh, any port in a storm, even if (especially if) that port happens to be an outhouse. It's a rude, bright, wild show.