Kent County News: 'The Triumph of Love sure to be a thrill for theater buffs'

by Peter Heck, Kent County News, Thursday, October 1, 2009.

CHURCH HILL — Theater buffs will get a special kick from “The Triumph of Love,” a 1997 Broadway musical with roots deep in the history of comedy.

Directed by Steven J. Arnold, the theater’s executive director, “Triumph” features a book by James Magruder, based on a 1732 French comedy by Pierre Marivaux. The original French play drew on themes borrowed from 16th-century Italian commedia dell’arte — which itself harks back to classical Greek and Roman comedies. Marivaux was a master of witty dialogue; that wit carries over into the lyrics by Susan Birkenhead and is often reflected in Jeffrey Stock’s musical score, as well.

The play ran on Broadway for roughly three months, with good reviews and building audiences, before the theater owners closed it down in favor of another production that, ironically, never got off the ground. Despite the play’s short run, Betty Buckley, in the role of Hesione, was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk awards as best actress in a musical, and the lyrics were also voted a Drama Desk nomination. That nomination highlights an important feature of this show, in that the musical numbers aren’t so much separate songs as extensions of the dialogue, developing character and on occasion forwarding the plot.

The plot itself is almost ridiculously slight, but situation is the essence of romantic comedy. Agis is a young man brought up in isolation by his aunt Hesione and uncle Hermocrates, two elderly philosophers who want to reduce the world to logic. They plan to restore Agis to his true destiny as King of Sparta — a role usurped by Princess Leonide. Now Agis is ready to depart on the mission for which he has trained his entire life: to assassinate Leonide and reclaim his throne.

Little do they know that Leonide, accompanied by her wisecracking maid Corine, has come to the secret garden where they live. The princess has caught a glimpse of Agis and fallen instantly in love with him. Since the philosophers have banned all females (save for Hesione) from their garden, Leonide and Corine disguise themselves as young men to gain entry. They quickly gain two allies in Dimas, the surly gardener, and the clown Harlequin, who has somehow managed to get hired as a valet by the two dour philosophers.

The silliness takes off from there, as the princess and her servant play the comic effects of cross-dressing and assumed identity for all they’re worth — with hilarious effect. By the time the final curtain falls, everyone else in the play is in love with someone. It’s probably not a good idea to spend too much time trying to make sense of the plot; suffice it to say that love conquers logic, and the play ends with everyone still alive and the correct sets of lovers together — although there’s a plot twist even to that stock conclusion.

A certain amount of the play’s fun, as Arnold says in his director’s notes, involves its balancing classical themes with a very modern sensibility. The script has allusions to popular songs of the 1990s (“Torn Between Two Lovers”) and other cultural baggage of the era (including a particularly bad pun on Harlequin’s name). There’s some raunchy dialogue among the servants, in very deliberate contrast with the philosophical abstraction of the two philosophers and their pupil Agis.

Samantha Smith, a senior at North Caroline High School, brings real charm and energy to the role of the princess. This is her third CHT appearance, following roles in “The Music Man” and “Once on This Island.” Agis, the object of her love, is played by newcomer Christopher Long, an Air Force mechanic with extensive community theater experience in his hometown, St. Louis. He does a fine job of projecting his character as a young innocent — a role more commonly given to the female lead.

The two philosophers, are played by CHT veterans: Marcia Gilliam as Hesione and Patrick Fee as Hermocrates. They both gave top performances on Sunday, with a good transition between the seriousness of their basic character as respectable elders and the folly they fall into once their minds are turned by love.

As is often true in 18th-century comedy, the servants get most of the best comic bits, with physical schtick and lots of double-entendre to add spice to the more refined roles of their social superiors. Wade Garrett is almost perfectly cast as the irresponsible Harlequin, and Matt Folker is appropriately down-to-earth as Dimas, the gardener. Sarah Brothers, making her first CHT appearance, is winningly saucy and irreverent as Corine, the princess’s maid.

The costumes, by Barbara Beddell and Sylvia Maloney, are gorgeous. They reflect Marivaux’s period, rather than the play’s nominal Greek setting. The apparent anachronism is actually a reflection of what was pretty much standard practice for most of theater history; Marivaux’s original production would undoubtedly have had the characters in what most Americans think of as “colonial” costume, the ordinary clothes of 18th-century France. Here, the distinction between male and female styles in the 18th-century fashions is much more dramatic than in authentic ancient costume (or current American costume, for that matter), and actually works better to highlight the play’s cross-dressing theme.

In contrast to the costumes, the set is minimal: a stylized garden with hedges and a pair of pillars. Arnold adapted it from the original Broadway scenic design, and it’s perfect for the play.

Music director Joe Holt led a small group including Ron Demby and Rebekah Hardy on reeds, Trevor Williams on keyboard and Ian Trusheim on bass. The orchestra’s performance was tight and added to the quirky, humorous air of the script. While the songs themselves are not particularly memorable — and in several cases were clearly a challenge to the singers — the score as a whole is quite witty, and the performers conveyed that essential quality very well.

Church Hill deserves kudos for bringing in lesser-known plays like this one; theater fans whose budget doesn’t stretch to regular New York trips depend on their community theater to see quirky, off-the- beaten-track works. Let’s hope the audience response encourages the theater to continue.  “The Triumph of Love” runs through Oct. 14, with performances Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students; Church Hill Theatre members receive a $3 discount.