The Rivals
American Players Theatre, Spring Green 5950 Golf Course Road, Spring Green, Wisconsin 53588
Liz Lauren
In case you've forgotten what a comedy of manners really is, Tracy Michelle Arnold, Marcus Truschinski and Kelsey Brennan (from left) will remind you in "The Rivals," at American Players Theatre.
One of the rites of summer in these parts is a trip out to Spring Green to see a play under the stars. The season kicks off June 11 with Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals, one of those 18th century love/class conflict comedies that APT does up so well with froth and vigor. It's followed in coming days by Sense and Sensibility and The River Bride (both debuting June 18), Hamlet (June 24) and The Brothers Size (June 28), in repertory. The season shows a new breadth, without sacrificing its core strengths.
By Richard Brinsley Sheridan; directed by Aaron Posner. In the Hill Theatre, 6/11-9/17.
Lydia Languish is bound and determined to marry only for love, a situation that she expects (and, oddly, hopes) will land her in the poor house. This causes a conundrum for the wealthy Jack Absolute, who is in love with Lydia, but doesn't meet the requirement of being destitute. So to woo her, Jack takes on the persona of Ensign Beverly, a poor enlisted man. But Lydia's aunt, the ridiculous Mrs. Malaprop, can never allow such a love connection, setting the couple and their cohort into a hilarious comedy of manners; the kind that APT hits right in the sweet spot.
Featuring Kelsey Brennan, Phoebe González, David Daniel, Brian Mani & Marcus Truschinski