2008 Woodie Awards
Dangerous Liaisons provokes
Latest Speech and Drama department production proves irresistably tempting
Jordan Krueger
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Trinity Life
Sex. Love. Betrayal. Deceit. It worked in 1782 when Pierre Choderlos de Laclos wrote Les Liaisons Dangereuses, it continued to work in 1985 when Christopher Hampton adapted it to theater, and now "Dangerous Liaisons" makes its mark on Trinity campus.
Opening tonight at 8 p.m. in Stieren Theater, "Dangerous Liaisons" takes place in France before the revolution and dives deep into the dark lives of the aristocracy. Despite the distinct period and culture of the play, "its story and theme are both pretty timeless," said Tim Hedgepeth, visiting professor of the Speech and Drama department.
"Essentially the play is about sex, sex as power, sexual intrigue, sex as a means of revenge… and it resonates today very easily," Hedgepeth said.
Indeed.
Though sex is obviously a driving factor in the play, it is the twisted intentions, seductively sharp language and even sharper performances that will make the most lasting impressions on the audience.
"In this play, certain things that should be respected, like a person's privacy among other things, have no value to several lead characters," Hedgepeth said.
He elaborated on how this conflict affects the characters' world.
"Beneath the beautiful, elegant veneer of this world is this festering wickedness that is rotting away at this culture," Hedgepeth said.
In one of the more philosophically darker moments of the play, la Marquise de Merteuil, played by Senior Erica Peterson, explains, "Love is something you use, not something you fall into." This line becomes the doctrine by which she and her ex-lover le Vicomte de Valmont, played by Sophomore Mike Guerra, live.
This line also may sound familiar to anyone who has recently watched "Cruel Intentions," one of the many films adapted from the play and novel. Unlike the film, however, Hedgepeth's production of "Dangerous Liaisons" remains true to the elite French cultural setting for which the play was written.
"I think one thing that we all rehearsed and made sure that we had down and that Tim [Hedgepeth] advocated was the articulation of the time," Guerra said. "They enunciated very properly. These people were educated and didn't have much else to do but talk. So when they spoke, you understood everything that they said."
Opening tonight at 8 p.m. in Stieren Theater, "Dangerous Liaisons" takes place in France before the revolution and dives deep into the dark lives of the aristocracy. Despite the distinct period and culture of the play, "its story and theme are both pretty timeless," said Tim Hedgepeth, visiting professor of the Speech and Drama department.
"Essentially the play is about sex, sex as power, sexual intrigue, sex as a means of revenge… and it resonates today very easily," Hedgepeth said.
Indeed.
Though sex is obviously a driving factor in the play, it is the twisted intentions, seductively sharp language and even sharper performances that will make the most lasting impressions on the audience.
"In this play, certain things that should be respected, like a person's privacy among other things, have no value to several lead characters," Hedgepeth said.
He elaborated on how this conflict affects the characters' world.
"Beneath the beautiful, elegant veneer of this world is this festering wickedness that is rotting away at this culture," Hedgepeth said.
In one of the more philosophically darker moments of the play, la Marquise de Merteuil, played by Senior Erica Peterson, explains, "Love is something you use, not something you fall into." This line becomes the doctrine by which she and her ex-lover le Vicomte de Valmont, played by Sophomore Mike Guerra, live.
This line also may sound familiar to anyone who has recently watched "Cruel Intentions," one of the many films adapted from the play and novel. Unlike the film, however, Hedgepeth's production of "Dangerous Liaisons" remains true to the elite French cultural setting for which the play was written.
"I think one thing that we all rehearsed and made sure that we had down and that Tim [Hedgepeth] advocated was the articulation of the time," Guerra said. "They enunciated very properly. These people were educated and didn't have much else to do but talk. So when they spoke, you understood everything that they said."
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