Head Games of the Rich and Powerful
Arizona State University's "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" at Lyceum 
Theater
**1/2 (out of *****)
Mark S.P. Turvin
(w) 965-1021  (h) 894-5443
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@asu.edu

	Arizona State University has the luxury of a pool of young 
actors, talented directors and designers, combined with the added 
bonus of a big budget. While this may occasionally help out a 
production, sometimes the limitations of educational theatre 
counterbalance the results. While eager young actors are a joy to 
watch, their lack of seasoning can sometimes cause a production to 
stumble. ASU's directors, such as Victoria Holloway, who handles 
this offering of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," must remember the 
education part of educational theatre, and not necessarily go for 
the obvious choices, since the students need not only to be 
directed, but challenged and helped to grow with each production. 
It is for this reason that the odd casting choices made for this 
production must be chalked up as learning experiences.
	"Les Liaisons Dangereuses" is about the nasty parlor games 
and intrigues going on in the court of King Louis XVII in the 
waning days before their decimation by the French Revolution. 
Skilled head game players La Marquise de Merteuil, a young widow 
with a penchant for the cruel, and her partner Le Vicompte de 
Valmont, a Casanova with an arsenal of charms, partake in the 
spoiling of an acquaintances fifteen year old daughter and a pious 
young married woman with strong virtues and convictions. The games 
that they play are sardonically amusing, and the cruelties they 
partake in are always tinged with humor. It isn't until the game 
players themselves are set against each other that the humors turn 
deadly serious with fatal consequences. 
	In the lead roles of the Marquise and the Vicompte, Kathleen 
Butler Casselman and Joel David Maurice are smarmily charming and 
vicious. Ms. Casselman stayed in her nasty character quite well, 
though her vocal inflections, especially in the second act, 
slipped during her many measured deliveries. Mr. Maurice's looks 
suited his role, although while it is obvious that many of his 
affectations were heavily studied, some of them were less French 
royal court and more Mall food court. Commendable in their small 
though integral roles as soon-to-be spoiled daughter Julie and 
over anxious mother Mme. de Volanges, Amy Goeldner and Martha 
Slater were solid in their portrayals. Ms. Slater, especially, 
balanced the regalness of her position with the over-doting of her 
matronly status. 
	After these, the other main performances were wildly uneven. 
The oddest choice of casting came with the role of the chaste and 
pious La Presidente de Tourvel. The woman who played the role, 
Yoko Kubota, is Japanese and speaks with a very heavy and 
difficult to understand accent, which destroys the rhythms of a 
show that depend so heavily on dialogue and inflections. Her 
halting way of speaking and her overly dramatic presentation threw 
off the balance of the show, and there was absolutely no 
connection between her and Valmont, though their relationship is 
key to the entire show. In his role of Le Chevalier Danceny, the 
man in love with Julie, Stan Weightman Jr. was hulking and 
awkward, much more so than the role seemed to indicate. There was 
no obvious reason why anyone would be attracted to such a dolt. 
	As is expected in a show of such lavishness, the visual 
elements of set and costume were sumptuous. Catherine White's 
scene design was fluid and selectively well-appointed, and Donna 
Bartz' costume design was colorful without being too ostentatious. 
Jeff Thomson's lighting design worked well and established 
dramatic moments, though there were several instances where lights 
flickered in and out obtrusively during the middle of scenes. 
	Educational theatre is an important element of the Valley's 
theatrical resources, and often gives us productions of shows that 
would either be too difficult to stage by most theatre companies, 
or too obscure to risk losing money on. Even with the flaws of 
this production, this is a worthy effort, and an inexpensive 
alternative to those big budget touring shows. 

Production Details:
"Les Liaisons Dangereuses" by Christopher Hampton
Arizona State University
Lyceum Theatre, Tempe
965-6447
September 27th to October 5th

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