"The Rivals," through April 14, University of Utah Department of Theatre, Babcock Theatre, 300 S. University (801-581-7100 or tickets.utah.edu), running time: 3 hours (one intermission).
SALT LAKE CITY — "The Rivals," presented by the University of Utah Department of Theatre, combines witty satire with slapstick comedy that kept the audience laughing from beginning to end on its opening night this past Friday.
Written in 1775 by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the play takes place in Bath, England. The plot centers around the love between Lydia Languish, played by Savannah Moffat, and Captain Jack Absolute, played by Harrison Lind, and the misadventures they encounter due to their behavior and the characters surrounding them. Lydia is obsessed with romance novels and wants her life to resemble one. In order to woo her, the wealthy Jack masquerades as a penniless man named Ensign Beverley who appeals to her overly romantic sensibilities.
His plan goes awry when Lydia's guardian Mrs. Malaprop, played by Emily Nash, and his father Sir Anthony Absolute, played by Connor Johnson, hatch a plan to arrange a marriage between Lydia and the real Jack. He contrives many more lies to pass as Ensign for Lydia, while not giving himself away to their guardians.
Jack's lie is obvious. He is literally pretending to be someone else, but throughout the show, they all wear a mask of sorts. The maid Lucy, played by Clare Vaughan, pretends to be stupid to take advantage of the wealthy surrounding her. One of Lydia's many suitors, Bob Acres, played by Nathan Vaughn, pretends to be a great fighter when he challenges Ensign to a duel. And Mrs. Malaprop tries to be seen as properly educated, but in her attempts to be well-spoken she often misuses words. This running gag became famous, coining the word "malapropism." Some of her most memorable mistakes are when she says, "He is the very pineapple of politeness!" rather than "pinnacle" and "no delusions to the past" rather than "allusions."
They are all like caricatures Sheridan uses to illustrate his theme. This can even be seen in their names like "Languish" and "Absolute."
Despite the lies, the characters reveal their true thoughts by speaking directly to the audience. Though the play centers around the love between Lydia and Jack, more than that it is about the hypocrisy of all the characters. Sheridan's play is less about love and more about satirizing over-the-top notions of love.
Lydia is blind to how happy she could be with Jack because she believes love should be full of drama like it is in the books she reads. Moffat did an excellent job portraying the childishness of this attitude, often shaking her fists or stomping her feet in the mannerisms of an over-excited young girl. She is similar to a modern fangirl, too caught up in her imagination to see reality.
The false ideas of love are also shown in the romance between Faulkland, played by Benjamin Nevarez, and Julia Melville, played by Jessica Weyman. Faulkland claims to be in love with Julia but is too caught up in jealousy to be happy with her. Her every word and attitude send him spiraling into doubts about her motives and if she truly loves him. He, too, has notions of how someone in love should act, and nothing Julia does is enough to alleviate his insecurity.
By fully committing to the ridiculousness of their characters, each actor did their part making "The Rivals" the delight it was. Whether it was Mrs. Malaprop's pretensions, Faulkland's insecurities or Lydia's childishness, they were all hilarious enough to keep the audience entertained rather than annoyed by the characters' idiosyncrasies.
Content advisory: "The Rivals" contains mild language and innuendos.