No obstacles are big enough to keep a princess named Leonide from pursuing her goal of winning the love of the handsome scholar Agis, who has been raised to forego love and passion in favor of reason. So determined is the princess in her quest that she'll seduce anybody she has to in order to get near Agis where he lives with his aunt and uncle in a philosophers' commune. With the help of her wisecracking servant, Corine, Leonide begins her seductions, even feigning to be a man, and carrying on three affairs simultaneously.
Love versus reason, or heart versus mind, is the central theme in "Triumph of Love," the Yale Repertory Theatre's next production, which opens Tuesday, Jan. 21, under the direction of award-winning director Michael Mayer. This musical adaptation of a 1732 comedy by French playwright Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux is having its world premiere as a co-production of the Rep and Baltimore's Center Stage, where it was recently performed. During its showing there, "Triumph of Love" was praised by The Baltimore Sun as "the most sheerly delightful musical bauble ... in more than a decade."
What makes "Triumph of Love" such a hit with its audiences is its humorous "clash of styles and periods," according to Tom Sellar, a third-year student at the School of Drama and a dramaturg for the production.
"It's a funny, smart and exuberant adaptation," he says. "It's set in ancient Sparta, but its set suggests a French neo-classical garden and the characters wear 18th-century costumes. The music is very eclectic; it covers a whole range of styles, from the tango to 18th- century Bach-like recitatives to pieces reminiscent of Rodgers and Hart and Steven Sondheim. Yet the attitudes, allusions and gestures often evoke the 20th century: people say things like 'men are from Mars' or 'I have to make a phone call' even though they're in Sparta. This pastiche or enormous contrast in styles makes for a zest and unpredictability in the show which is very funny and fresh."
James Magruder, a resident dramaturg at Center Stage who adapted Miravaux's play, first began his study of "Triumph of Love" while he was a graduate student at Yale, where he translated the play from French as a course assignment. After earning a M.F.A. in 1984 and later a D.F.A. in 1992 , he continued to work on his translation, which, along with his translations of two other French comedies, was recently published by the Yale University Press. His non-musical version of the comedy opened at Center Stage in 1993 and was subsequently produced in theaters across the nation.
Composer Jeffrey Stock collaborated with lyricist Susan Birkenhead and Mr. Magruder to revive the play in its new form as a musical. Mr. Stock won acclaim in the United States last year for the music and libretto for the New York Shakespeare Festival production of "The Voice of Temperance," and Ms. Birkenhead was nominated for a Tony Award for her work on the Broadway musical version of Studs Terkel's "Working."
According to Mr. Sellar, the music for "Triumph of Love" is also one of the show's most enjoyable aspects. "I find myself singing the music all the time," he says. "It's very catchy; it packs a punch, you might say."
The production's award-winning cast demonstrates its versatility by convincingly pulling off all the shifts in style that take place in the musical, says Mr. Sellar. "It's a wonderful cast that has a tricky set of shifts to master," he says. "There's also a lot of comedic banter, which Miravaux is famous for, and the actors meet the challenge of performing this witty repartee that takes place between characters."
Performing in the role of Princess Leonide is Susan Egan, whose recent credits include her Tony-nominated performance as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast." Christopher Sieber, who was most recently seen in the off-Broadway production of "The Boys in the Band," plays Agis. Other cast members are Broadway veteran Denny Dillon, who was nominated for a Tony Award for "My One and Only" and won a Cable Ace Award for her role in the HBO comedy series "Dream On," performing as the servant Corine; Mary Beth Peil, a three-time Obie Award-winner who won a Tony nomination for her performance in the final revival of "The King and I" with Yul Brynner, playing Agis' puritanical aunt, Hesione; Robert LuPone, a Tony nominee for the original production of "A Chorus Line," as Agis' uncle, Hermocrates; Kenny Raskin as the valet, Harlequin; and Daniel Marcus as the gardener, Dimas.
In addition to Mr. Sellar and director Mr. Mayer, who is acclaimed for his work on the national tour of "Angels in America" and other shows, the award-winning production team for "Triumph of Love" includes choreographer Doug Varone; orchestrator Peter Matz; music director and conductor Bradley Vieth; set designer Heidi Landesman; costume designer Catherine Zuber; lighting designer Brian MacDevitt; and sound designer David Budries, who is on the School of Drama faculty. Also collaborating on the production are James D'Asaro, the Yale Rep's resident stage manager, and dramaturg Jill Rachel Morris, associate dramaturg at Center Stage.
"Triumph of Love," which is being produced by special arrangement with Margo Lion, will continue through Saturday, Feb. 8. Previews begin Thursday, Jan. 16, at the Yale Rep, located on the corner of Chapel and York streets. Ticket prices range from $25 to $30, with group rates available. Four-play packages are available from $60 to $107, and student passes are $32. For tickets or reservations, call the Rep box office at 432-1234.