‘Liaisons’ Kept in the Family at the Grove

GARDEN GROVE — The Grove Shakespeare Festival has cast a married couple, Karen Hensel and Carl Reggiardo, to star in Christopher Hampton’s “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” a potentially risque production involving sexual intrigue, which will open the Grove’s 1991 season at the Gem Theatre on May 9.

Hensel will play the Marquise de Merteuil, and Reggiardo will play the Vicomte de Valmont. Hensel has starred in many productions at South Coast Repertory, most recently in Terrence McNally’s “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” Her credits also include varied roles at the Pasadena Playhouse, the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles and on television.

Reggiardo, a Shakespearean actor, has been seen in major roles at the Grove over the past several seasons, most recently in “Much Ado About Nothing,” “As You Like It” and “Othello.” He also has appeared at SCR, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

“Les Liaisons Dangereuses” will be staged by Grove artistic director Thomas F. Bradac and will run through June 15.