Marivaux’s ‘Triumph’ Promises Laughts, Love
This weekend, the Interplayers Ensemble opens “The Triumph of Love,” a comedy by Marivaux, which prompts the obvious question: Mariwho?
If we were in Paris in the 1730s, we wouldn’t be asking that question. Marivaux was the Neil Simon of his time, a widely popular chronicler of the French middle class during the age of Louis XV. Even his colleague Voltaire was jealous of his talents as a social satirist, and Voltaire may have been the premier satirist in history.
Marivaux’s first success was “Arlequin poli par l’amour” in 1720, which established his formula: Comic love stories that combine contemporary French characters with stock characters from Italian comedy (the Harlequin).
From that point on, he reeled off a series of successes in Paris. According to the historians Will and Ariel Durant, his works “amused Paris with their graceful badinage and clever plots.”
Love was the uniting theme. As we would say today, the audience skewed female.
“The women of Paris were better pleased than the men with the love tangles in these plays, and their tender sentiment,” wrote the Durants in “The Story of Civilization. “Here too, as in Versailles and the salons … women ruled and had the deciding word; and the analysis of feeling replaced the problem of politics and the heroics of war.”
Marivaux did not restrict his pen to the theater. He also wrote a novel in installments, “La Vie de Marianne,” which was considered one of the high points of French literature.
“This was the outstanding psychological novel of 18th century France,” said the Durants.
“The Triumph of Love,” originally titled “Le Triomphe de l’amour,” opened in Paris in 1732. It too utilizes the Harlequin, a kind of court jester, to comment on the sometimes ridiculous actions of the lovers. It is about the young princess Leonide, who disguises herself to gain entrance to the country estate of the dour philosopher Hermocrate (philosophers being much sought after in those days). She then falls in love with his young ward, Agis, and resolves to win his heart. The comedy stems from her increasingly harebrained tactics to accomplish this goal.
This version is translated and adapted by Stephen Wadsworth, and it premiered in 1992 at the McCarter Theatre Center for the Performing Arts in Princeton, N.J.
In Joan Welch’s Interplayers production, Interplayers newcomer Kate Witt will play the princess Leonide. Scot Charles Anderson will play Agis. Other characters will be played by David Heath, Gary Pierce, Rebecca Hankoff, Jonn Jorgensen and Linda Montalvo.
A reduced price preview will be on Friday at 8 p.m. The show opens on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and continues Tuesdays through Saturdays through Nov. 16. Curtain times are 8 p.m. for Friday and Saturday shows; 7:30 p.m. for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday shows; and 2 p.m. for matinees on Oct. 26, Oct. 30 and Nov. 2.
Call 455-PLAY for ticket reservations. The Interplayers Ensemble is Spokane’s resident professional theater, 174 S. Howard.
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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: The Interplayers Ensemble opens “The Triumph of Love” on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Call 455-PLAY for ticket reservations.