STAGE REVIEW : Troupe Brings Fresh Life to ‘Les Liaisons’ : Theater: A compelling but flawed ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ by the Moonlight Amphitheatre.

Some are frightened by failure--still more by success.

The 1988 movie “Dangerous Liaisons,” in an Oscar-winning adaptation by Christopher Hampton from his 1985 London play, “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” made such an indelible impression on the imagination that many theater companies have been fearful of following in its shadow.

Just seeing Glenn Close as the scheming Marquise de Merteuil, John Malkovich as the proud seducer Viscomte de Valmont and Michelle Pfeiffer as their innocent victim, the virtuous Mme. de Tourvel, put indelible stamps on the parts. Actors that follow should rightly be afraid of getting lost in their giant footsteps.

“Dangerous Liaisons” virtually crippled the chances for Milos Forman’s also brilliant film, the 1989 “Valmont,” (starring Annette Bening), which was drawn with a slightly different perspective from the same source Hampton used--the 1782 novel by Pierre-Ambroise-Francois Choderlos de Laclos.

T And so, the San Diego premiere of Hampton’s play, which ran just three short months on Broadway in 1986, fell to the modest little Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista. That company proved only two years ago, when they attempted (and succeeded) with Stephen Sondheim’s complicated “Into the Woods,” that they are not afraid of tackling the tough ones.

Once again the result of their efforts, despite the community-theater status of this company, is a respectable, at times compelling though sometimes flawed, production of the work.

“Les Liaisons Dangereuses” runs through Feb. 16 at the Moonlight Playhouse, the company’s indoor venue at 1200 Terrace Drive in Vista.

The de Laclos novel, published seven years before the French Revolution, is a brilliant depiction of how the corrupt and cruel scheming of an overindulged, pampered and morally bankrupt aristocracy made that revolution inevitable.

At the center of action is the Marquise (Patti Goodwin), a master strategist whose cool, calculating mind would have made her a great general. But she is neither a man nor a selfless martyr on the order of Joan of Arc. So she devotes her considerable energy and skills to the war between the sexes, pushing the psychological buttons that move the people in her circle from one lover’s bed to another--revenging herself on those who have wronged her in the process.

Plotting with her--until he squares off against her--is the Viscomte de Valmont (Roy Guenther Werner). The Viscomte sees himself as the ultimate seducer until he makes the ultimate mistake that trips up the villain every time--he falls in love with one of his victims.

At first the memory of the film threatens to dwarf the reality of the play.

But Werner and Goodwin do so well with their complicated portrayals that by the time their war with each other has reached its peak--they sweep you up in the immediacy of their passions, forcing you to forget anyone but them.

The production, directed by Gary Krinke, who also directed “Into the Woods”, offers good support with some weak links. The ending, for example, seems too quick and less than satisfying.

But Bets Malone is terrifically touching and funny as Cecile, a young and very naive innocent whom the Marquise and the Viscomte plot to seduce in order to revenge themselves against Cecile’s fiancee. Marti Jo Pennisi is similarly funny as Emile, a singularly un-jealous dalliance of Valmont’s. Less successful is Mary Patricia Thornton, who overacts in the difficult role of Mme. de Tourvel, portraying physical aches and tics instead of internal distress as Valmont pressures her to succumb to his charms.

The costumes by Mela Hoyt-Heydon and set by Don Ertel are all white, contrasting mischievously with the darkness of the souls portrayed here. Hoyt-Heydon’s costumes are elegantly opulent, but the mechanics of moving set pieces on and off could have been managed more smoothly. John Mensching handled the lighting system, which came across as rather stilted and awkward.

Still, the production, even with such lapses, exuded power--with some haunting moments lingering long after the final bows. Much of the credit goes to the book and the play itself: It has been nearly 200 years since the French Revolution, but the war between the sexes goes on, giving fresh life to this delicious little play, as psychologically astute as it originally was in its social criticism.

Sadly, the play proves how little we’ve evolved morally or spiritually in the intervening centuries.

But on a lighter note, the production also shows how far the Moonlight Amphitheatre Winter Playhouse has come in just its third year as an offshoot of the Moonlight Amphitheatre’s summer musical season. That, at least, is a happier liaison to contemplate.

“LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES”

By Christopher Hampton. Adapted from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos. Director is Gary Krinke. Lighting by John Mensching. Sound by Stuart Holmes. Set by Don Ertel. Costumes by Mela Hoyt-Heydon. Stage manager is Dana S. Begg. With PattiCQ Goodwin, Roy Guenther Werner, Mary Patricia Thornton, Bets Malone, Anne M. Wimberley-Robinson, Hank Mehl, Robert T. Nanninga, Marti Jo Pennisi, Pat Hansen, Jonathan Stout and Daniela M. Heggem. At 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays with Sunday matinees at 2 through Feb. 16. Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for seniors and $8 for students with student ID. At 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista, 724-2110.