Of Pique And Revenge And Loss

Betray a monster, wound it, and you have trouble. Terrible trouble. It’s the late 18th century, just a few years before revolutionaries will tear France apart. And aristocrats are behaving badly, most particularly the Marquise de Merteuil, widowed, happily, and living for the game. The game of plotting, getting even, destroying. And prevailing. In all things. Her accomplice in these matters is Vicomte de Valmont, a user, a seducer and a plotter for the fun of it. Their greatest tool in the game is sex; their greatest weapon in the game is love: the sentiment that destroys. Utterly. Eight years ago, Barrington Stage premièred this florid and original musical in a high school auditorium in Sheffield, MA. Now, Artistic Director Julianne Boyd has revived it in the company’s new home: a theater on Union Street in Pittsfield. And it is a tighter work now, and even more beautiful. The first Act has 13, yes 13, scenes, Act II has 10, with changes made by tightly choreographed and costumed figures in silhouette, moving like pieces in a great clock. Everything ticking into place inexorably: the furniture, the characters, the plot. The lights come up on a stageful of characters writing to each other, telling us who they are and what they are about, and in no time a tight script and expressive songs plunge us into a malicious world in which most people are beautiful and all people are beautifully dressed. Rachel York, a tall and handsome actor, makes a stunning Merteuil: charming, seeming girlish now and then, but poisonous, always. If a lover abandons her, he will pay, finding his betrothed, the virginal Cecile (Sarah Stevens) undone before the wedding day. And if Merteuil makes a wager, which she does with Valmont, she must win. If she loses, if she is wounded, there is hell to pay. For all. Graham Rowat makes an attractive, if not riveting Valmont. Too bad, because this is about two ruthless equals in a wicked world where love is for losers. Valmont needs more edge, less elegance, making his fall to grace more stunning. And making Merteuil’s loss more heartbreaking. Among the very interesting actors here is Joy Franz who played Madame de Rosemonde in BSC’s original production, too. One of the grand moments is a duet between Merteuil and Rosemonde, “Certain Women,” about females “interceding on their own behalf.” Rosemonde tells Merteuil “we are different.” In time, though, she discovers how different they really are — from each other. In time, of course, Valmont drops the game and falls in love with one of the duo’s victims, (“the impenetrable” Madame de Tourvel (Amy Decker) and a feverish and incredulous Merteuil is left hissing “You need me,” as the dark closes around her. In the end, they are all wounded terribly by the evil in a world that will come apart before they know it. This is a gorgeous play. Very musical. And fascinating. “The Game,” a musical directed by Julianne Boyd, with book and lyrics by Amy Powers and David Topchik (based on the book by Choderlos de Laclos), and music by Megan Cavallari, runs at Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, MA, through Aug. 28. For tickets, call 413-236-8888 or go to www.barringtonstageco.org.