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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 2, 2005 Belle’s winning stratagem OSF’s latest, by an 18th-century female playwright, hasn’t been performed by a major theater company in more than a century By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune In the way of fashionable Londoners of the day, Doricourt has been engaged to the beautiful Letitia Hardy since both were children. But what he wants is a woman with something "everybody feels and nobody can describe." And Letitia can tell ice from flame. "He should have looked as though a sudden ray had pierced him," she moans after a meeting with him. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s go at "The Belle’s Stratagem," Hannah Cowley’s 1780 comedy of manners, briskly directed by Davis McCallum, is a lavishly produced romp full of style and delicious bons mots. And instead of a young man’s pursuit of a woman it’s the other way around. "I will touch his heart or never be his wife," Letitia vows. Advertisement Cowley was one of London’s most popular playwrights at a time when women were a vibrant presence in the theater, before virtually disappearing a generation later. In this 1780 play, perhaps her best, she has fun with arranged marriages, one of the hot issues of the day among wealthy young people. The main plot follows Letitia’s weird plan to win Doricourt, which involves those old standards the masquerade and mistaken identity. Heather Robison as Letitia is strong, conniving, witty and lovely. Gregory Linington is caustic and charming, seasoning Doricourt’s idealism with a dash of world-weariness. Both roles require considerable goofiness in big rave-up scenes, and the actors deliver. Linington performs one of the most hilarious deranged smiles you’ll see (it’s a good year at OSF for this, the other example being Ken Albers’ insane grin as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night"). A subplot involves the Touchwoods, the jealous and controlling Sir George (David Kelly) and his new young wife, Lady Frances (Miriam A. Laube). The subplot is a good one, and clearly important to Cowley. In the first act nearly as much time is spent on it as on Letitia’s pursuit of Doricourt. The Touchwoods are worth it, but the main plot suffers from insufficient movement, and we want more scenes in which Letitia and Doricourt play off each other. This is a social world in which everybody knows everybody, and they’re all in constant motion. It’s a world in which a fashionable widow like a Mrs. Racket (Demetra Pittman, nearly stealing the show) and her companion Miss Ogle (Terri McMahon) intervene in Sir George’s life and whisk his naive wife off to the jaded social whirl that is the main occupation of their set. It’s a world in which the vain Courtall (Mirron E. Willis) can boast of his seductions and his designs on country girl Lady Frances. Courtall is a send-up of the rake, a type in Restoration comedy. Witty, cynical and coarse, the rake was driven by a need to seduce women and cuckold men. But Courtall is in the wrong century here, and he’s not up to the speed of this smart set. He’s foiled by Saville (Shad Willingham), a friend to Doricourt and former admirer of Lady Frances. Saville, like Courtall, is single. As is Villers (Mark Murphey), a man of sentiment, Flutter (John Tufts), a noted liar, and most other characters. There are more singles here than in Sheridan or Goldsmith. Even Old Hardy (Michael J. Hume), Letitia’s father, is apparently a widower. And Racket is a widow who’s wicked, witty and wonderful — and doesn’t get punished in the end. Cowley’s characters are richly human, warts and all, and drawn so skillfully that they develop depth quickly. Staging is lush and fast-paced, with handsome costumes by Deborah Dryden and a William Bloodgood set with moving panels. The masquerade scene that begins the second act is so gorgeous it sparked a delighted round of applause on opening night Saturday. Like dramaturg Melinda Finberg, McCallum shows an affection for Cowley’s work that comes from a long relationship with it. Both recognized that the script, restored by Finberg, is strong enough that it doesn’t need to be tricked up. McCallum directed a reading of it at OSF in July 2003 and the Prospect Theater Company’s workshop 2003 production in New York’s little West End Theatre. He calls this one "the first major production" in over a century. The play ends in a coda after the traditional comic double wedding (counting the Touchwoods, whose relationship changes). It’s delivered nicely enough by bad-girl Kitty (Aisha Kabia), but it’s pedantic and tacked-on and detracts from the note of high comedy on which the action ends. If you go: What: "The Belle’s Stratagem." When: Through Oct. 29. Where: The OSF’s Angus Bowmer Theatre. Length: About two hours, 35 minutes with one intermission. Tickets: $29 to $55. Call 482-4331 or visit 488-5406 for more information. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail Belle�s winning stratagem ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Fundraisers Advertisement s