In 2005 I raved about Steven Epps' and Dominique Serrand's interpretation of Moliere's The Miser. Their current collaboration, The Deception, is based on 18th century writer Pierre Marivaux's La Fausse Suivante, which has been freely translated as, The False Servant or Companion or Follower or Confidante. All are equally fitting. However, their choice of "The Deception" is certainly most appropriate.
Chevalier (Merritt Janson) suspects she is being duped by her betrothed, Lelio (Casey Greig), so she pretends to be a man. She observes him making a serious play for The Countess (Emily Gunyou Halaas). Ah, but duplicity turns and turns to an almost totally confusing mix. To paraphrase, it is an evil web we weave.
Add to the intrigue one Trivelin (J. C. Cutler), a fallen-from-grace servant who would like nothing better than to bed Chevalier. Then there is the twit of all twits, the servant Arlequino (Nathan Keepers), who manages to botch up all the best-laid plans. While the ladies-in-waiting (Liz Elkins, Michelle Diaz) are around looking beautiful, and the male ensemble members (Dorian Christian Baucum, Larry Herron, and Brandon D. Taylor) look dashing and very masculine, they have very little to do.
Scenic designer David Coggins has created something that could be called a set. Floor-to-Flies panels composed of two by three foot Lucite (or something) sections brushed in an assortment of colors comprise the back and side walls in his boxedin set. A narrow center section mid-stage slowly moves across the stage during the production. There are also doors and sliding panels in the major panels. It almost becomes a character as players look at themselves, obviously trying to find a reality of sorts somewhere. This, one imagines, becomes a lighting nightmare for designer Marcus Dillard. He makes it work.
Costume designer Sonya Berlovitz and hair and wig designer Mark Adam Rampmeyer manage to bring a period feeling to this contemporary set with strange but interesting costumes and some rather odd hair designs that are both contemporary and classic.
Sound designer Zachary Humes' music and effects often become explanation points after many moments in the play. Director Dominique Serrand stylizes his characters. The Countess has a strange way of moving on stage, a strange way of reacting to others, and a strange costume a very strange being. Arlequino minces, prances and appears totally the idiot. Lelio can be foppish or sly and conniving. Both he and Chevalier are believable. It is Trivelin who is both a storyteller and a bit of a con man himself.
Eccentric characters, odd play, bizarre set. Amusing at times, always weird, the production is guaranteed to elicit a strong reaction. I think Lelio says it best: "It's impossible to make any sense of this."
