BWW Reviews: Theatreworks Spins Tall Tales With THE LIAR

The Liar occupies a peculiar place between classical and modern drama. The original French play was written by Pierre Corneille in 1634, but David Ives (Venus in Fur) has some fun with it, not simply translating the text directly but adapting it into modern vernacular, all while retaining the meter and rhyming patterns of a classical play. The result is something akin to what Shakespeare and his ilk might have first sounded like to audiences for whom the language was current.

It takes a little getting used to, hearing actors in fancy dress trading off couplets in everyday English like a peculiarly bawdy Dr. Seuss book. But once you accept the anachronism, The Liar is an immense amount of fun.

The prevaricator of the title is Dorante (John DiAntonio), a student of law who never met a tale he couldn't elaborate. On arriving in Paris, he secures the services of an out-of-work valet named Cliton (Sammie Joe Kinnett) and turns the heads of a couple of charming ladies with improbable tales of military derring-do. Clarice (Anne Walaszek) catches his eye, but in one of those misunderstandings that comedies of manners so frequently turn on he believes her to be "Lucrece"-actually the name of Clarice's more reserved friend (Carley Cornelius). Dorante spins increasingly wild fables in order to pursue his inamorata, inevitably creating more confusion and misunderstanding and getting tripped up by his own words. Throw in Clarice's hot-tempered fiancé (Karl Brevik), a marriage-brokering father (Tom Paradise), and twin maids (one a saucy flirt, the other severely prim, and both played by Caitlin Wise) and things snowball from there.

As the center of this whirlwind, DiAntonio is a wonderfully charming rogue, suave in his courtships and spellbinding in his storytelling whether he's concocting a ludicrously hedonistic liaison or a melodramatic romance. Yet there is also a grain of sincerity at his core as well, particularly in Dorante's second-act speech where he describes the nature of lying (if so much of reality is uncertain, why not create the reality that pleases you best?). Kinnett, whose Cliton is as pathologically honest as his new master is false, is a perfect foil with his snarky side comments and interjections. As Lucrece, Cornelius gradually brings out the depth of feeling and passion lurking behind the shy girl's spectacles. Lucrece's inevitable infatuation with the man who has unwittingly been addressing his correspondence to her is introduced rather abruptly, but Cornelius makes it work, especially in the climax when she has the chance to confront Dorante with the consequences of his actions.

Murray Ross keeps the pace quick and light and the humor broad, having the actors play to the audience in an engaging fashion. Russell Parkman's abstract set-a partially-unfolded map of Paris spread out between seating areas-allows focus to be drawn to the ridiculous antics onstage, and Hugh Hanson's beautiful Cavalier-era costumes. The intimacy of the setting contributes to one of the productions best comedic moments when a pair of duelists, possibly to avoid risk to the audience, sheathe their swords and instead demonstrate their fight in a brilliant pantomime. The resulting fiction is far better-and funnier-than any realistic combat could hope for.

THE LIAR plays now through May 10th at the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 4pm and Saturday matinees May 2nd and 9th at 2pm. For tickets, contact the box office at 719-255-3232 or visit theatreworkscs.org.

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