The Huntington Theatre presents ‘The Triumph of Love. Written by Pierre de Marivaux. Adapted by Stephen Wadsworth. Directed by Loretta Greco. Scenic and Costume Design by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design by Tom Watson. Lighting Design by Christopher Akerlind. Composer and Sound Design by Fan Zhang. At The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave., Boston through April 6, 2025.
By Linda Chin
Much like its 2016 production of Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, based on post-impressionist painter George Seurat’s ‘La Grande Jatte’ (1884), the action in playwright Pierre de Marivaux’s 1732 stylized French comedy The Triumph of Love takes place in a natural setting – and gives a nod to another French artist. In bringing Triumph to life, director (and artistic director) Loretta Greco, scenic and costume designer Junghyun Georgia Lee, and lighting designer Christopher Akerlind have created a visual feast that draws inspiration from Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s renowned ‘The Swing’ (1767), transforming the Huntington stage into “the gardens of Hermocrate’s country retreat,” replete with vines of ivy climbing the walls, lemon trees, rhododendrons, roses in bloom, and a luminous backdrop of a kaleidoscopic, cloud-swept sky. Completing the landscape, a stone bench with some ornamentation and a simple swing made of wood and ropes.
Theatergoers who glance at the cover of the “playbill” (this reviewer’s gratitude to Huntington for their large format and always-so-artfully designed show programs), art history types knowledgeable about Fragonard’s masterpiece – or even film buffs who have seen the segment of the Disney movie Frozen, where Princess Anna, wearing a ball gown, leaps into the painting – may expect that the young woman in a billowing pink period dress, suspended in mid-air and tantalizingly swinging between two men – a playful, sensual, even erotic image – will be represented on stage. Which of the characters in Triumph’s seven-hander (3w, 4m) ensemble is the swinger?
The inhabitants of this country retreat include Hermocate (Nael Nacer), a rationalist philosopher, and his sister Léontine (Marianne Bassham), a scientist. Both are middle-aged, repressed, and loveless (and deliver master-class performances). Their young ward – and Hermocate’s student Agis (a “noble, elegant, charming” Rob Kellogg) lives with them and has been raised by his guardians to resist romantic feelings. One would describe the members of this high-IQ household as emotionally austere, while the hired hands have EQ in spades. Dimas (Patrick Kerr, delightfully droll) tends to the garden – and the family members, as needed – with loving care, and Harlequin (a versatile Vincent Randazzo) infuses the household with playfulness and wordplay (for example, he describes one of his strongest qualities, “discretion,” as “the better part of a valet.” Rounding out the possible suspects are the lovely Léonide (sparklingly portrayed by Allison Altman) and her loyal lady-in-waiting Corine (Avanthika Srinivasan), who visit the property without permission but with a secret mission in mind (and who Harlequin cleverly quips are “dresspassing”). If one of them is the swinger, who is she swinging with?
This deftly directed, wonderfully acted, visually and vocally marvelous production is endlessly engaging and entertaining. It’s a feel-good show that will make you think and feel deeply about love and reason that audiences will love. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/whats-on/the-triumph-of-love/
