Interview: Mark Linn-Baker Talks About Playing a Role That Makes Him Sick

A stage favorite for more than 45 years, Mark Linn-Baker is back on the boards as the grumpy hypochondriac Argan in Jeffrey Hatcher’s streamlined adaptation of Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid, now being presented by Red Bull Theater at New World Stages.

TheaterMania recently spoke to Baker about the show’s messages, why he enjoys roles that allow him to display his expertise at both physical and verbal comedy, what he will—and won’t—do onstage, and the challenges and joys of still acting at age 70.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

I read that this script was written for you. Did Jeffrey just present you with a finished product, or was there any collaboration?
Yes, we’ve been collaborating on it for about a year and a half, and we’ve been talking constantly with Jesse Berger, the director of the play and the artistic director of Red Bull. The script has changed a lot over time, and ultimately, we took a couple of hours off of Molière’s original play. I love how Jeffrey took his scissors to the play while retaining its original spirit.

Jeffrey also said he chose you for this role because he thought you were both a good verbal comedian and a good physical comedian. Do you think that combination has been a key to such a long career?
Yes, that’s my bread and butter; roles that allow me to do both are where I am most comfortable. I really enjoy physical comedy. Growing up, I saw a lot of movies by the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and while those films are a different genre than what I do onstage, they definitely influenced how I approach physical comedy.

Verbally, your version of Argan is sharp and gruff, but far more human and vulnerable than in the original. Did that appeal to you? Or would it have been more fun to just be a grumpy old man?
I still think he’s not an entirely likable character, but it was nice to soften him up. Audiences for this play typically root for the young lovers [Angelique and Cléante] to get a happy ending, but in this version, you root for Argan being able to find some peace in his life. Still, it’s never my goal to have an audience like me or my character. I do think I get some automatic goodwill from people who know me from my TV work, especially Perfect Strangers.

The original play is far more anti-medicine/anti-doctor. While the doctors here are still all quacks and greedy, I think this version is perhaps softer on them. Was that on purpose?
Let’s just say we redirected the script so we didn’t become the RFK of the theater world. And while the show is about the failures of 17^th-century healthcare, a lot of the issues have not changed. We still have to argue with some people that science is real, as Jeffrey wrote in.

While the play revolves around Argan, you often end up ceding center stage to the other actors. Do you enjoy just watching them?
Absolutely. Everyone in this show is a gem. I am so thrilled to be out onstage with so many talented people. It’s like playing tennis a lot of the time, especially with the hilarious Sarah Stiles [who plays the argumentative maid Toinette]. As a cast, we all agreed that we have to really play the stakes of the play—which can be life or death—to make sure it stays in the right realm.

Let’s talk about some of the physical comedy in this show. Is this the first time you’ve been spanked onstage?
I am not sure, but in 50 years of acting, there’s very little I haven’t done onstage. I have limits based on personal taste; but, as a working actor, you have to be open to all possibilities. I think the only thing I’ve ever refused to do was to physically threaten another actor onstage.

Has the physicality of the role altered your daily regimen?
One of the benefits of the acting profession is that it keeps you young and in shape. But yes, it’s different doing a show like this at 70 than when I was 30. I was talking one day to Arnie Burton [who plays all the doctors] and we were reminiscing about how we used to enjoy our days in repertory theater, where you did more than one show at a time. I can’t do that anymore. Even on a two-show day, I have to wolf down a salad and get some sleep between shows. The bottom line is you always want to be able to give 100 percent to every audience.