Triumph of Love: romantic adventure wins the heart of royalty

What is a princess to do when she falls in love with the rightful heir to the throne? From April 20-30 Rosebud School of the Arts students show audiences exactly what to do in The Triumph of Love by Marivaux.

     Originally written in the 18th century by French playwright, Pierre de Marivaux, this recent translation by James McGruder makes the play more accessible for today’s audiences. Although not well known in this century, Marivaux wrote many comedies in his lifetime, so many in fact that an entire writing style is named after him.
    The play follows Princess Léonide who discovers she is not the rightful heir to the throne. When she finally sees Prince Agis, she instantly falls in love with him. But she had also been taught to hate him, so she dresses up like a man to befriend him and then win his love. Along the way she has to overcome his cranky guardian and stodgy sister with a series of deceptions, bribes and seductions.
     “The style of the period often took quite restrained characters and thrust them into crazy situations with hilarious results,” says director Mark Lewandowski. “While the language seems at first glance to be flowery and quite formal, when the actors commit to the absurdity of the situation, the language becomes natural and everything is surprisingly clear. Even if you’re not catching all the wordplay and layers of metaphor, you still know exactly what’s going on.”
    Regarding the idea of placing the play in a more modern setting to make it more relevant for today’s audiences, Lewandowski commented, “In the 18th century, honour and appropriate decorum were much more important than they are now, so that concept just didn’t translate as well. However, once we got the play on its feet, the period certainly makes comedy so much more entertaining.”
     This period setting also meant that the costumes had to reflect that time in history - a challenge for the students who were also working on costuming as part of their schooling this semester. “Each student in the class must work on one of the production aspects, and the female students working on costumes were at times overwhelmed,” explains Lewandowski. “But the final product is amazing, a feast for the eye - from set to lighting and props! I can’t help but gush at the end result.”
     The hilarious romantic adventure plays on the Rosebud Studio Stage from April 20-30 at 4:30 PM. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Show dates include April 20, 21, 28, 29, 30.