Restoration romp “The Beaux’ Stratagem” is a period delight
University Theatre’s production of George Fahrquhar’s The Beaux’ Stratagem is a quintessential Restoration comedy, complete with wigs and waistcoats, robbery and romance, discussions of class and the dangers of hasty marriage, mistaken identities and characters hiding behind furniture to overhear others’ scheming and subterfuge. The excellent adaptation by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig makes the story and the language clear to a modern audience while preserving the antics and tropes of the genre.
The play, which runs at the Mitchell Theatre through Dec. 13, opens with two of London’s bon vivants, without title or fortune, arriving in a small English country town determined to woo wealthy women and marry for money so they can return to their high life. Disguised as a lord and his footman, Tom Aimwell (played by an enthusiastic Daniel Millhouse) and his friend Archer (the charming Michael Jahn) must abandon their Machiavellian plan almost instantly, after they fall in love with the daughter and daughter-in-law of the wealthy and eccentric Lady Bountiful (a pitch-perfect Barbara Clayton). When their initial ruse is revealed, they prove their nobility and devotion by thwarting a robbery, masterminded by a devious minister (the comically conflicted Kyle Wessel).
The large cast — including undergraduates, alumni, Ph.D. candidates, community actors and a former professor from the department — showcases a wide range of talent and ability. Anne Guadagnino gives a standout performance as the lovely ingénue Dorinda, who approaches marriage warily, even after she has fallen madly in love with the mysterious stranger Aimwell. And as Scrub, Lady Bountiful’s chief servant and assistant in her ill-fated medical practice, Steffen Silvis is perfectly stiff, delivering delightfully dry commentary on the strange proceedings.
Barbara Clayton shines as Bountiful, the matriarch and misguided physician who kills as many patients as she cures. The character is wrong about everything in the play, from the true nature of her alcohol-swilling son (a convincingly scruffy Alex Wehrle) to her frightening medical prescriptions. Yet Clayton delivers Bountiful’s pronouncements with the thrilled certainty of a scientist who has just made a new discovery, lighting up the stage with every entrance.
The production is also elevated by a magnificent set, designed by UW professor emeritus Joe Varga. Featuring a series of towering wooden beams that support an unseen roof, it transforms (slowly) from a rustic country tavern to a grand mansion and back again. Models of the buildings’ exteriors are an ingenious touch to signify each setting.
There are some missteps, including a few performances that are entirely too broad or emotionally shallow. And though they are essential elements of the comedy, the sword fighting and requisite dancing at the end of the play seemed wooden at the preview. But overall, this romantic romp is an enjoyable evening that entertains as it unmasks heroes and villains alike.