I guess the best excuse I can give for not catching Mad Cat’s Viva Bourgeois earlier in its run was that I was in Paris. While I was away, all the other critics raved, rightly, about this inspired adaptation of Moliere‘s classic, The Bourgeois Gentleman (1670).

There is much to like about the ensemble, the set, the costumes, and so on, but two factors make Viva Bourgeois a stand out: Tei’s genius transport of the play from a 17th century Versaille imitation to 1971 Graceland; and Fabregat’s uncanny reincarnation of the wannabee gentleman as Elvis.

Tei shows how the bourgeois aspirations of Moliere’s day have been supersized into the myth of celebrity in our own time. In case the Elvis connection wasn’t clear enough, he also directs Tony Davidson to play Leon, Viva’s suitor to Lisa Marie (Caitlin Geier), as Michael Jackson, complete with MJ’s Afro-Halo and the slinky tiger’s walk from Billie Jean.

The celebrity premise makes the production relevant. Fabregat’s performance makes it work. While most critics praise his dead-on impersonation of the bloated late Elvis, Fabregat goes beyond Vegas kitsch by inhabiting the role entirely. When the play ends with a poem on loneliness written by the real life Elvis, we are offered another heartbreaking look at celebrity’s tragedy. Viva!

Mad Cat Theatre Company presents Viva Bourgeois! through August 22 at the Light Box, 3000 Biscayne Blvd., Thursdays-Saturdays 8pm. 305-576-6377. madcattheatre.org.