At Dante's Disco Inferno, Philinte (Mike Urbanas, left) confronts the misanthropic Alceste (Jason Vichinsky) about his rude behavior.
Alceste demands to know why Celimene spends so much time with empty-headed fools when he loves her so. Celimene (Lisa Batchelor) ignores his ranting--as usual--and polishes her toenails instead.
In Celimene's apartment, Clitandre (Sam Nicola) and Acaste (Evan Jay Levy) vie for the affections of Celimene, who manipulates them, along with her many other male admirers.
The prude Arsinoe (Natalie Paris), who is working for the downfall of the flirtatious Celimene, works at seducing Alceste. She has information exposing Celimene as an unfaithful gossip, and wishes to take Alceste back to her apartment to show him the evidence.
Earlier, Philinte tried to convince Alceste that he would be better off with Eliante (Alicia Floden) than with Celimene, and suggested that if Alceste rejected Eliante, he--Philinte--would happily take her. After Alceste does reject Celimene, he turns to Eliante for comfort, but she has already accepted Philinte's offers of love.
Her gossipy letters discovered by the people about whom the letters were written, Celimene is shunned by Arsinoe, her many suitors (Alceste, Acaste, Clitandre, and Oronte), Eliante and Philinte, and she is left alone onstage, with only her mirror to comfort her.