Last night, I attended the open dress rehearsal of a USC School of Theater fueled play entitled The Beaux' Stratagem. It is a very old play, scribed sometime in the 18th century by George Farquhar, and though it was not rewritten by the school's director (a jolly professional-actor-turned-professor named Michael Keenan), it was "adapted" in 2000 for more contemporary audiences. The dialogue in particular has been retouched, as far as I could tell, sometimes breaking the century-old age barrier for the possible sake of youthful inclusion.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the play (I don't have the opportunity to attend many), I have to note that the newer material was a bit annoying at times (notably in the character of Lady Bountiful), sometimes taking me out of the moment entirely, an issue stemming from a break in flow of streamy period dialogue to modern, lazy American English. Nevertheless, the beauty of the original environment and the dramatic girth of the plot shone bright throughout.
As for the actors: all students of the School of Theater, all brilliant, two in particular:
Peter Erian, dressed in regal garb and furnishing a mean goatee, evokes the spirits of Captain Hook and Frank Zappa, an eccentric, wide-ranging performer who stole the show every moment he appeared. He sense of character was complete and concrete, as was the interpretation of Cherry, the naive inn-taker's daughter, one of promiscuous tastes and witty speech, fulfilled to the fullest extent by Veronika Dash.
Above all, the directing was spot-on, a humble, sweet interpretation of a period piece. With no flagrancies or overly ambitious attempts at commanding the audience, Mr. Keenan delivers a world interpreted through simple Victorian sets, amorous seduction, anticipated sword fights, and a Shakespearean conclusion. Overall, clocking in at 2 hours, this is a play well worth being told, and well worth the experience (a meager $5).
The Beaux' Stratagem plays at the McClintock Theatre:
October 21 - 7 PM
October 22 - 7 PM
October 23 - 7 PM
October 24 - 2:30 PM & 8 PM
October 25 - 2:30 PM
You can purchase tickets online at www.usc.edu/spectrum, at the USC ticket office, or you can arrive an hour before the show and put your name on the 'Rush List'.
