Dangerous Liasons

directed by Jane Nichols at the Leverett House Old

Library

Through May 2

Jane Nichols' adaptation of Christopher Hampton's highly acclaimed Dangerous Liaisons is a modest attempt to bring a certain degree of finesse to a highly complex storyline. This play deals adeptly with deceit, betrayal, love and above all, control.

Set in late 18th century France, the plot revolves around two protagonists: La Marquise de Merteuil (Alison Weller) and le Vicomte de Valmont (Tom Hughes). Love and Revenge are their favorite games. When successful conquests bolster this pride, it gets beyond their control. They sacrifice all for the preservation of this lethal trait.

Valmont encounters and subdues several women, from the naive Cecile Volanges (Bina Martin) to the promiscuous courtesan, Emilie (Danielle Kwatinetz). His primary goal, though, is to make the pious and virtuous Madame de Tourvel (Jeanne Simpson) "betray everything she believes in." And achieve this goal he does, but he falls in love with Tourvel along the way. The forbidden "Lword," which he once shared with the Marquise, has become so alien to him that when he does feel it once again, he shuns it. He is so afraid of exposing his Achilles heel--his real personality--that he alienates his true love in order to salvage his ego. As the plot advances, the characters become enmeshed in a web of deceit.

The dialogue uses caustic humor to alleviate the burden f textual complexity. The dialogue is charged with such puns and double entendres, and fits the content of the play perfectly.

While Valmont seduces everything in a skirt, the Marquise is an equally manipulative woman. She claims that she was "born to dominate [the male] sex and avenge my own." She is a mistress of detachment. She creates a stark barrier between her true feelings and her appearance. These deceptive underpinnings fuel the nervous tension that culminates in an eventful climax, in which the protagonists learn that "vanity and happiness are incompatible."

The directorial devices that create a bourgeois French ambience are carried through by the actors and actresses with ease. The costumes (designed by Lara Ho and Christie Peale) are appropriate for the classical French setting. The set design utilizes the space of Leverett House old Library well. The music, Bach's Goldberg Variations (Aria and 30 variations) lends itself to the decadent an opulent atmosphere well. The overall visual and the atrical effects show off some excellent talents.

Hughes stands out as the lascivious, obnoxious and Machiavellian Valmont. Everything from his swaggering gait to his libidinal outbursts a delineates a distinctive Valmont. His character suffers from frustrated vanity, and he devises his own fall with unwitting irony. He disgusts the audience with his lecherousness and charms them with his seductive demeanor.

Weller, as the Marquise, is not so convincing. She is sarcastic and power-wielding, but lacks the evil streak that should be the fundamental basis of her personality. She is caustic, but not vile.

The malice that drips from every pore of Valmont's character is unmatched by the Marquise. While Valmont and the Marquise are supposed to be equally evil and apathetic, Valmont surpasses the Marquise on both these counts.

In supporting roles, Winsome Brown as the decrepit Madame de Rosemonde is amusing and well-cast. Ian Lithgow as Cecile Volanges' courter provides some comic relief.