Bill Irwin Charms, but Molière Revival Falls Flat on Broadway

WHO:

Deadline - Bill Irwin stars in *The Imaginary Invalid*, a Broadway production of Molière’s play.

NY Post - The reviewer attended a performance of Molière’s *The Imaginary Invalid* at the Todd Haimes Theatre.

WHAT:

Deadline - Deadline described Irwin’s performance as enjoyable and said he “knows how to clown an audience.”

Deadline - A brown leather recliner in the production is described as “La-Z-Boy-style” and a focal point of the staging.

NY Post - The NY Post review described the revival as unfunny and said laughs “did not flow freely” at the performance the reviewer attended.

WHERE:

Deadline - The production is on Broadway.

NY Post - The performance took place at the Todd Haimes Theatre.

WHY:

Deadline - The review contrasts the recliner with the production’s “eye-popping 17th Century French frills and finery.”

NY Post - The reviewer’s description of the revival as unfunny was based on the scarcity of audience laughter.

HOW:

Deadline - Deadline describes the costumes and finery as suggesting “a stage invasion of brilliantly plumed vainglorious peacocks.”

NY Post - The NY Post reviewer wrote that audience members may have imagined they had “laryngitis,” because the laughs were sparse.

(UPDATED October 23, 2026 03:20 UTC)

Bill Irwin is starring in a Broadway revival of Molière’s *The Imaginary Invalid*, drawing sharply different reactions from two reviewers. Deadline praised Irwin’s performance as enjoyable, saying he “knows how to clown an audience.” The review also singled out a brown leather recliner, describing it as La-Z-Boy-style and a focal point of the staging. The chair stands out against the production’s eye-popping 17th-century French frills and finery, which Deadline likened to a stage invasion by brilliantly plumed, vainglorious peacocks. By contrast, a New York Post reviewer found the revival unfunny after attending a performance at the Todd Haimes Theatre. The reviewer said laughs did not flow freely, and joked that audience members might have thought they had laryngitis.