With lust, sex, and betrayal, 'Liaisons' lights up the UT

By George Cederquist

Christoper Hampton's script displays both Wildean wit and delicious double entendre. The plot, despite its linear feel, could almost be a series of set pieces and interactions, though director and former Dramat president Ari Edelson, PC '98, said he aimed "to push the conventions of 1782 to more abstract levels."

Patrick McGarvey /YH Elizabeth Waterston, DC '99, and Louis Cancelmi, SY '00, tread the line between love and lust in 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'

The plot follows the sexploits of the Marquise de Merteuil (Chipo Chung, TC '00) and the Vicomte de Valmont (Louis Cancelmi, SY '00), a pair of Parisian socialites. The two (once lovers) somewhat confusingly attempt to outdo each other in the daring audacity of their conquests. This drive brings to light two opposing schools of thought on several issues concerning the battle of the sexes: love, desire, pleasure, and fidelity. Commenting on the loss of virginity, Merteuil says: "The shame is like the pain--it only happens once."

Constantly increasing the stakes and dramatic tension throughout their competition, Merteuil and Valmont discover the limits to which sexual interaction can be pushed, with somewhat shocking consequences. In addition to creating different personas to suit their respective tasks, the distinctly opposite characters of Merteuil and Valmont work in antithesis, presenting two equally effective approaches to answer their questions. Merteuil is clear with her mission: "To dominate [the male] sex, and to avenge my own." The execution of her manipulation and seduction is, as she freely admits, centered on cruelty. To her, love is simply "something you use--a lubricant to nature."

Valmont's targets range from the 15-year-old Cecile (Julia Kots, TC '01) to the initially prudish and religious Presidente de Tourvet (Elisabeth Waterman, DC '99). It is with the latter that Valmont falls in love, challenging the very basis of betrayal inherent in his opinions. Merteuil labels this conflict as the "battle between love and virtue."

The Chevalier Danceny (Brennan Gerrard) is then thrown into this love polygon. He initially wishes to marry Cecile, but is eventually distracted by Merteuil's advances, leading to a rather scrappy duel.

The relationship between Merteuil and Valmont is essential to this play, and is skillfully borne by Chung and Cancelmi. Both icy and irresistible, Chung brings an exotic flavor to the play's atmosphere, delivering every line with the most effective accent of the cast.

Cancelmi's intensely powerful yet disarming looks draw the audience to him. Valmont's sexuality has been refined accordingly, and yet remains frighteningly intense. Kots's Cecile matures nicely from tenderly innocent to alluringly desirable. Waterston is highly effective as Tourvet, using veritable wells of emotion within herself, even if the occasional line or gesture doesn't quite ring true. Gerrard's Danceny is wonderfully bumbling, yet he displays an unusual resonance at the close of the drama. Finally, Chrissy Paraskevopoulos's, SM '99, portrayal of Valmont's Aunt Rosemond is aged to perfection. It is, perhaps, a little too realistic, at times leaving the audience straining at her lack of projection.

J. Clay Satterfield's, PC '98, skeletal set is surprisingly lush. Edelson said that he aimed to create "an intimate opera in a 70-foot-high Nick Chapel" on the stage of the University Theater, and accordingly sat the entire audience onstage. This decision certainly highlights an essential intimacy in the play, though unfortunately causes problems with sight lines. A number of facial gestures, both dramatic and comic, are lost to one side or the other of the audience.

Stark contrasts of black and white-painted flats and sheets transform the space into an engulfing boudoir, positioned over a black and white chessboard floor. The period costumes, selected by Maki Takenouchi, PC '00, add more luxuriance to this fine base, while the music is an even more eclectic mix of Philip Glass and Björk.

As a whole, the end result is effective, creating an unusual sense of both focused intimacy and lavish grandiosity. It is on this basis that each character experiences an individual epiphany. Though running at a hefty three hours, the refined yet elemental eroticism of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, presented with tremendous power by Chung and Cancelmi, make this production worth every single minute.

Back to A&E...