THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE is an old story with eternal clout. This rapturous production now onstage at THE HUNTINGTON is a rollicking exploration of love and reason, gender and power, politics and class. Yes, it was written in 1732 by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux and has a marvelous cast but it’s the rip-roaring translation by Stephen Wadsworth which holds center stage and will leave you delighted and enlightened. WATCH THIS FOR A GLIMPSE! TRAILER HERE!
The opening scene comes loaded with exposition– so hang on. Princess Leonide (Allison Altman) falls in love at first sight with Agis (Rob Kellogg) the young prince whose family is threatening to kill HER because her family has overthrown his! Nevertheless, and guided by love, she sets out not only to win his heart but also to restore him to the throne she is set to inherit, by disguising herself as a man, along with her servant Corine (Avanthika Srinivasan), and seducing her way into his household. That’s where the fun begins!
Agis is under the tutelage of a renowned philosopher of rational thought Hermocrate played by a hilarious and usually bald Nael Nacer sporting a wig full of 18th century curls. (Hair Wig, Makeup- Tom Watson) Hermocrate and his stern sister Leontine played Marianna Bassham whose poker face cracked me up, have sworn off romantic love in service to reason.
L. to R. Marianna Bassham and Nael Nacer
But Leonide, sometimes masquerading as the adorable male philosophy student Phocion, and at other times as the lovelorn woman Aspasie, beguiles everyone including Hermocrate the esteemed philosopher himself. One by one they succumb to the princess’s omni-sexual charms. As we head into the last act, passion has overtaken reason, no fewer than three weddings to the same person are on tap, and at least one kingdom and one school of thought are about to be swept off their hierarchical feet.
L.to R. Alison Altman and Rob Kellogg
Artistic director Loretta Greco brings this roundelay of disguise, unrequited love, and repressed passion to exhilarating life against a backdrop of the 18th century, percolating with the revolutionary ideas of the Enlightenment: rational scientific thought, individualism, and intellectual freedom (as opposed to religious dogma and blind faith) as a path to truth and happiness.
In contrast, the scenic and costume design (Junghyun Georgia Lee ) along with luscious lighting (Christopher Akerlind) background a giant swing– a nod to Jean-Honore Fragonard’s famous painting with its candy-colored palette and erotic undertones. This sensual environment suggests the fly in this particular garden of philosophical thought. A woman in love has entered this garden, and uses the philosopher’s own “enlightened” point of view against him, a view which in the extreme, separates him from nature — his own.
This is a talky play, but the talk is witty and even gritty and the ensemble held me fast with every increasingly intricate encounter and rhetorical flourish. Filling out the cast is the slyly funny Vincent Randazzo as the servant Harlequin and Patrick Kerr as the down and dirty –and very bribable gardener Dimas. Again, Allison Altman at the climax of the play, peeling back the last layers of her identity, left me buoyed by the triumph of love over all in whatever shape it takes!
SEE THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE at THE HUNTINGTON through APRIL 6!
You can also stream it! Pre-order now: The Triumph of Love digital streamThe digital stream for The Triumph of Love will be available April 7 – May 4, 2025.
