‘Rivals’ Could Use More Passion and Fewer Words

The course of true love does not run smooth, at least not most of the time in “The Rivals,” Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 comic gem playing at Lamb’s Players Theatre through March 30.

But, since this is comedy, not tragedy, the fault for that lies not in the fates, but in the lovers themselves. Their deceptions and delusions make them their own worst enemies in reaching their hearts’ desires.

So Captain Jack Absolute becomes his own rival when he pretends to be Ensign Beverley in order to win the lovely heiress Lydia Languish, all because Lydia finds a penniless ensign more romantic than a captain who stands to inherit a fortune.

And Absolute’s friend, Faulkland, almost loses his own true love, Julia, because he keeps questioning her every word and reaction in the fear that her love for him might be flagging--which it does in the end, because of his suspicious and worrisome nature.

At its core, “The Rivals” can be a hot, spicy story about tensions and misunderstandings between the sexes. When flashes of that friction shoot across the Lamb’s stage--in the rare moments when the men and women are sparring--the elegant veneer of this beautifully written piece gets a welcome jolt, and the play quickens with life.

But this show lapses more than it should. Too often on opening night, the skillful cast opted for the romantic thrust, rather than the passionate. Director Robert Smyth would do well to turn up the heat.

Still, the larger problem here is that the play’s three-hour running time, and lengthy expositions, many by minor players, wear down the audience. Lamb’s production made some cuts, but more are needed. This kind of problem comes with the territory when a five-act period piece like this one is transformed into two acts.

The production excels in its delicious, acrobatic attention to language (which gets a Southern lilt from being moved from its original British setting to Charleston, S.C., in 1791).

This, after all, is the play that gave us the marvelous Mrs. Malaprop, whose attempts at high-sounding language leave us with such “malapropisms” as “Female punctuation forbids me to say more” and “He is the very pineapple of politeness.”

Darlene Trent, festooned and beribboned in pinks and limes and yellows as excessive and clashing as her conversation, makes a handsome, larger-than-life Mrs. Malaprop, who takes herself seriously even if the rest of the world does not.

Ted Deasy and Cynthia Peters play the parts of the young lovers, Jack and Lydia, with appealing virtuosity, but they could use more passion in their portrayals--it would help to feel that this romance matters not just as a plot device, but as a testimony of personal happiness.

John Carroll, on the other hand, brings angst to burn as Faulkland. Kerry Cederberg Meads is a consistent pleasure to watch as Lydia’s servant, Lucy, who greases the comic wheels by delivering messages and deluding suitors, for which deeds her own palms are handsomely greased.

As Jack’s demanding, inflexible father, Sir Anthony Absolute, Michael Harvey brings nice conviction to such wonderful lines as: “You know I am compliance itself when I’m not thwarted.”

Jeanne Reith’s costumes provide a vivid delight of lusciously comical colors and flounces. Mike Buckley’s Spartan set design--a simple revolving square stage with minimal hangings for the 13 scenes--wisely does not detract from the busy action. And some of the most inventive and charming bits occur during these same scene changes, when servants and coachman mime amusingly while they move the stage and props.

It all adds up to a lot to savor. The main problem is there is too much of everything here--characters, verbiage, general cuteness. Sheridan’s characters fumble because they value appearances over truth. This production, too, would do well to work harder at conveying the truth of Sheridan’s message, which lies under an elegant, but too superficial veneer.

“THE RIVALS”

By Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Director is Robert Smyth. Sets by Mike Buckley. Lighting by C. Todd Brown. Costumes by Jeanne Reigh. Stage manager is Dan Bendel. With George Weinberg-Harter, Arthur Morton, Kerry Meads, Cynthia Peters, Teri Deaver, Darlene Trent, Michael Harvey, Ted Deasy, John Carroll, Andy Wynn and David Cochran Heath. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays and 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays with Saturday matinees at 2 and two Sunday matinees on March 10 and 17 at 2 through March 30. Tickets are $14-18. At 500 Plaza Blvd., National City, 474-4542.