The School for Lies

"The School for Lies" at Classic Stage Company, April 30, 2011

David Ives returns to CSC with another update of a classic. This time it's a fresh interpretation of Moliere's The Misanthrope.

And fresh, indeed.  Mr. Ives manages to combine the French salon of the empire with a hilarious farce entirely in verse and using quite contemporary and usually anachronistic language.  It's a similar feat to that of this season's revival of David Hirson's La Bete, but this time it doesn't require the masterful skills of Mark Rylance to achieve success.

Mr. Ives kicks off this grand time with the names assigned to his characters.  The misanthrope, a man incapable of guile or dishonesty, even for the sake of polite society is aptly named Frank (Hamish Linklater).  Celimene (Mamie Gummer) is the widowed owner of the manse where the action occurs, and has a slander charges pending against her. She sports a barbed tongue as sharp as Frank's, but wields it purely for sport, "I never gossip, I just repeat."  Losing the case will render her penniless if her secrets are revealed.  Complicating the suit is Celimene's rival, Arsinoe (Alison Fraser).  She also has three suitors: the obnoxious and untalented, self-styled poet Oronte (Rick Holmes), Acaste (Matthew Maher) a vapid hanger-on, and her oily lawyer Clitander (Frank Harts).  Philante (Hoon Lee) and Elainte (Jenn Gambatese) round out the cast as friends of Celimene and Steven Boyer doubling as servants of both Celimene and Frank.

Mr. Linklater's Shakespearean experience rings through loud and clear as he skillfully manipulate the verse.  His Frank is a bit reluctant, but always rises when challenged.  Equalling his performance is Ms. Gummer, looking and acting more like her mother with each new role.  She commands the range from elegant to acerbic to vulnerable.

Director Walter Bobbie is in high form.  He navigates this farce with aplomb, pulling elegance and pratfalls together, matching Mr. Ive's mix of period and contemporary with laughs aplenty, and a final, touching plot twist.  It's an excellent match of director and writer, showing an enhanced relationship following their pairing last in with Venus in Fur. 

The crisp, upholstered white set is by John Lee Beatty (and Restoration Hardware).  William Ivey Long's costumes are sumptuous and elegant.  

It's an excellent evening of theatre - don't miss it!

The School for Lies runs through May 22.  Click here for tickets.

Venus in Fur

"Venus in Fur" at Classic Stage Company, January 23, 2010

A tale of lust, domination and submission, based on a German novel from the late 1800s, David Ives has adapted Leopold von Sacher Masoch's Venus in Furs into a contemporary, clever, 90 minute two-hander.  The theatricality is heightened as he juxtaposes the tale into the setting of a playwright conducting auditions for his own stage adaptation of the original text.

Frustrated by poor productions of earlier work, Thomas (Wes Bentley) is directing his new play himself.  His "perfect" Wanda and she hasn't turned up yet at his auditions.  He is about to give up for the day when Vanda (Nina Arianda) bursts into the room.  She's late for her appointment (weather, trains, blah, blah) but wants to read even though Thomas didn't have her name on the list.  She quizzes him on the finer points of the story, "It's really just porn, isn't it? I mean...really?"  Exposition ensues and the games begin.  Power flips back and forth as they read each character, and as director and actress work through the story.

Ms. Arianda takes the upper hand very quickly and doesn't let go, even until the confusing and slightly bizarre ending.  It's a powerful performance and worth the price of admission.  Mr. Bentley seems a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, but manages a few nice moments.  It pointed up, for me, the difference between acting for an audience vs. acting for a camera. There were moments when he seemed to be looking for the lens to register an internal moment.  Nonetheless, he has matured nicely since his role as the quiet bad boy in "American Beauty" so many years ago.  Being pretty can count for something from time to time.


Director Walter Bobbie shows a firm hand as he guides the cat and mouse games, each actor moving to and from each position.  He keeps the tension high without losing the laughs.

Mr. Ives' adaptation starts with a great premise and builds beautifully, keeping the audience on edge.  At the last minute, he suddenly loses focus and as a result, the audience.  I have a vague idea of what I think he intended, but I'm still not really sure.  With some proper attention to the last scene, this could be a pretty darn good play.

John Lee Beatty's sterile audition studio set makes a great canvas for Peter Kaczorowski's lighting.