Not the usual game of love and lucre, a world premiere adaptation of Marivaux’s “The Deception” is presented through Aug. 19 at La Jolla Playhouse, a co-production of the Playhouse and Minneapolis’ Theatre de la Jeune Lune.
The work is recommended as an antidote to comfort and complacency.
Marivaux (1688-1763) wrote “The Triumph of Love,” which Southern California audiences saw in its translation by Stephen Wadsworth at South Coast Repertory Theatre and most recently in its musical version at Starlight. Also recently, University of California San Diego (UCSD) department of theater presented a fine production of the playwright’s “La Dispute,” staged by Darko Tresnjak.
“The Deception,” adapted by Steven Epp and Dominique Serrand from “La Fausse Suivant (The Fake Servant),” is a much darker piece than the aforementioned works, which are acerbic in their indictment of society but have happy endings nonetheless.
“The Deception” is not what one expects and therein lies its appeal. Rife with commedia-tinged physicality, deliciously imbued with a kind of cross-gender attraction merely hinted at by Shakespeare’s Rosalind and Orlando, it hits one upside the head with a tragic denouement.
Up till the final denunciation of upper-class games of love and money, aimed directly at the audience, one might have expected the real woman (the Countess, played by Emily Gunyou Halaas) and the woman disguised as a man (the Chevalier, played by Merritt Janson) to go off into the sunset, so strong their attraction and so deep their disillusionment. That would have been a twist indeed, but instead the play delivers what might be likened to an extremely dry martini with a bartender-infused twist one cannot identify. The flavor may linger for days.
The other major players in “The Deception” are the Chevalier’s servant Trivelin (J.C. Cutler), the Countess’s fiancé, Lelio (Casey Greig), and the Countess’ clown, Arlequino (Nathan Keepers).
Here’s the twist: Lelio, whose heart is made of money, has signed a contract to wed the Countess. Their marriage will bring him $5 million per year. He’s also become engaged to a Parisian woman whom he’d prefer to wed because that marriage would pay $10 million per annum. Naturally he wants to dump the Countess. Lelio promises money to the Chevalier to seduce the Countess and make her fall in love with him. The Chevalier is actually the Parisian woman, who has come to discover her fiancé’s true character.
As Trivelin, the speaker of truth, Cutler gets the first and last words in the remarkable play. He is an amazing actor, who physically and by vocal innuendo encroaches disturbingly on others’ space. Keepers is wonderfully poignant as Arlequino, who first discovers the Chevalier’s true sexual identity.
Halaas and Janson are simply magnificent as the women who might have loved.
Serrand stages the tristesse work upon an artfully painted-panes-of-glass set by David Coggins. Sonja Berlovitz’s endlessly fascinating, mostly ecru and white costumes are layered and askew. Lighting and sound design, by Marcus Dilliard and Zachary Humes, are dazzling, with rain effects and the sounds of birds calling, hitting barriers, falling and nervously fluffing feathers.
Five UCSD MFA candidates “” Dorian Christian Baucum, Michelle Diaz, Liz Elkins, Larry Herron and Brandon D. Taylor “” make up the ensemble. They contribute to two impeccably sung, breathtaking a cappella chansons. This chorale could go on the road!
“The Deception” is not for playgoers expecting an ordinary French farce. It explores the depths in a vernacular that is gritty, human and hip and seems to suggest that situations like this are timeless.
“The Deception” plays at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $28 to $60. For tickets and information, visit www.lajollaplayhouse.org or call (858) 550-1010.
