The Rivals - American Conservatory Theater Francisco

A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed a restoration comedy called the Country Wife which played at the Onstage Theatre in Pleasant Hill and gave it a pretty fair recommendation for a show performed by primarily amateur and aspiring actors. Another play from that same time period, or at least at the end of that time period, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is called The Rivals. This was one of the best of this type of “Restoration Comedy” and it was produced in the Colonies after being penned by Sheridan in 1780. The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco is presenting a truly outstanding production that every aficionado of Comedia Del Arte or early American comedy theater should see.

Typical of this type of comedy, love was usually conditional, perhaps even more so than in real life. Everything was exaggerated in the theater to make fun of those with money, those in the aristocracy, and the social norms. In this play, the very lovely Lydia Languish (Rene Augesen) is a very attractive young lady whose family is very well off financially. She disdains her wealth and the need for wealth. She has fallen in love with Captain Jack Absolute (Anthony Fusco), a young officer whom she is led to believe is a low grade Ensign by the name of Beverly, but who is actually a higher grade commissioned officer. Captain Jack learns of her disdain for wealth and rank, so he continues to play the part of the lowly officer to continue his amorous attentions toward her.

When Lydia’s aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, discovers that her niece is illicitly entertaining a young man, whom she believes is nothing more than a “poor” ensign, she locks her daughter away hoping to find a more suitable marital prospect for her. Captain Jack’s father, the wealthy Sir Anthony Absolute (Charles Dean) has befriended Mrs. Malaprop and suggests to her that his son, Captain Jack Absolute, would make a perfect suitor for her daughter (Lydia), Mrs. Malaprop arranges for the father to bring his son to the house to introduce him to Lydia, which would in turn, destroy his deception. Poor Jack is forced to be his own rival for the hand of his beloved, while at the same time, stage-managing the complementary romantic disarray of his friend Faulkland (Gregory Wallace). The insecure Faulkland brings the skill and dedication of a Talmudic scholar to his persistent attempts to convince himself that his lover, Julia (Stacy Ross), Lydia's friend, is insufficiently enraptured and obsessed with him.

Typical of plays that lasted for three to five acts at that time, there are several sub-plots going at the same time. The multifaceted cast includes a country bumpkin, Bob Acres (Dan Hiatt), a feisty provocateur of duels, Sir Lucius O’Trigger (Andy Murray), personal servants such as Fag (T. Edward Webster) and David (Jud Williford) in addition to Mrs. Malaprop’s maid, Lucy (Claire Brownell), among others. The acting is terrific, the direction by Lillian Groag is sensational and the show is a historical kick in the derriere.

Mrs. Malaprop (Jill Tanner) constantly mixes up words that sound similar, declaring, for instance, “He is the very pineapple of politeness,” when she means pinnacle; and "She's as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile!" (when she means to say alligator). So popular were her witticisms that they have become known as malapropisms in the English language.

This play performs Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., with matinees on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., now through April 23rd. Call the box office at (415) 749-2228 or visit their website at www.act-sf.org for additional information. The Theater is located at 415 Geary Street in San Francisco.