Theater review: ‘Rivals’ is staged with confidence and flourish

Richard Sheridan’s 1775 comedy, “The Rivals,” spoofs social manners and mores of the period, the humor arising from heightened, witty dialog and outlandish plot complications. Actors Comedy Lab’s co-production with Raleigh Little Theatre offers a committed, adept cast in a spirited, colorful staging that adds amusing contemporary touches.

The story’s dizzying intricacies (thoughtfully summarized in the production’s program) take place in Bath, England, where dashing Captain Jack Absolute is set to woo wealthy young Lydia Languish. But her love of romance novels makes her dream of forbidden affairs, so Jack pretends to be a lowly, penniless ensign while he courts her.

Her aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, disapproves and threatens disinheritance, while Jack’s father, Sir Anthony, unaware of his son’s ruse, wants to introduce him to Lydia as a suitor.

Subplots include mistrustful mooning by Jack’s friend Faulkland over Sir Anthony’s ward, Julia; country bumpkin Bob Acres’ deluded courting of Lydia; and Mrs. Malaprop’s secret letter-writing dalliance with Irish gentleman, Sir Lucius O’Trigger (who thinks she’s Lydia). All this makes for mirthful misunderstandings and un-maskings, although Sheridan sometimes overplays the jokes and elongates the setups.

Jonathan King’s Jack is spiffily raffish and Ronald Mitchell’s Sir Anthony is pompously aristocratic. Their several sparring arguments create the production’s highlights. Morrisa Nagel knowingly lobs Mrs. Malaprop’s word-mangling, while Robert Kaufman’s Bob Acres draws giggles with his pretensions to class. Gus Allen astutely depicts Faulkland’s lovelorn worries, mirrored by Anthony Hefner’s incisive articulation of Sir Lucius’ delusions concerning “Delia” (a.k.a. Mrs. Malaprop). Sarah Beth Short’s Lydia and Noelle Barnard Azarelo’s Julia are animated and headstrong, but sometimes come off shrill and hard-edged. Tracey Phillips and Jason Tyne-Zimmerman exuberantly embody wily servants but both employ accents too thick to be understood easily.

Director Rod Rich skillfully guides his cast around the thrust stage of RLT’s Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre, pacing them with boisterous intensity. He’s drilled them in the arch delivery of the ornate dialog, delightful when easily heard. But the need to accommodate an audience on three sides means constant changing of positions, with punch lines often drawing laughs from only one side of the room.

Rich attempts to maintain interest during Sheridan’s lengthy piece (over two and a half hours with intermission) by sprinkling in modern-day elements. Props can be scooters, staplers, picture wallets and telegrams. Thomas Mauney’s brightly painted set and furnishings have 20th century silhouettes. And Jenny Mitchell’s vivid costumes mix period and contemporary by incorporating denim and funky-chic footwear. The actors also interact with and sometimes sit among the audience.

The updating seems a collection of individual ideas rather than a unified concept, but most ticket holders won’t mind, based on reaction at Friday’s opening. The production deserves credit for mounting a difficult piece with such confidence and flourish.

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Theater review: ‘Rivals’ is staged with confidence and flourish."