Masters of a Changing Heart

Purists and snobs can say what they will, but Stephen Wadsworth has directed a dazzling version of “Changes of Heart,” the 1723 Marivaux court comedy usually titled “The Double Inconstancy.” In fact, there is nothing usual about the production that opened Thursday at the Mark Taper Forum. Serving also as translator and adapter, Wadsworth blows the dust off even the recent Nicholas Wright translation (1988), making this play fresh and alive and also locating within its cynical trappings a surprisingly touching and dignified heart.

Wadsworth’s version avoids fustiness in everything from its title change on down. Every element of this production shows Wadsworth’s visceral connection to Marivaux’s roundelay of manipulation and love. The design is beautiful, the actors funny, the direction sensitive and original. “Changes of Heart” is a pure delight from start to its gorgeous finish.

Wadsworth balances his sophisticated reading of the play with a tone that may strike some as too contemporary--both Silvia, the ingenue, and Harlequin, her clown prince, pronounce the word “whatever” the way Alicia Silverstone might in one of her saucier moments. Upon entry, John Michael Higgins’ dexterous Harlequin evokes Groucho, and soon enough Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Paul Lynde and Noel Coward. Yet Higgins never actually imitates anyone, and his Harlequin seems securely tied to the traditional commedia clowning from which his character (not to mention Groucho, et al) comes.

The Prince (Paul Anthony Stewart) is in love with the country lass Silvia (Kathryne Dora Brown), whom he has wooed disguised as a court officer. Failing to separate her from her bumpkin lover--the masked clown Harlequin--the Prince, in effect, kidnaps Silvia, hoping that palace living will sway her. There, he continues to woo her, still disguised as the officer, while sending her gifts as the Prince.

The court lady Flaminia (Mary Lou Rosato), with her seasoned knowledge of human nature, is an invaluable help to the Prince. She encourages him to let Silvia see Harlequin freely, because she knows that love cannot be won by force. And together, with Flaminia lavishing praise on Harlequin, and the Prince lavishing gifts on Silvia, the two manage to disentangle the lover’s hearts.

Wadsworth does not read this tale of calculated manipulation as a tract on the corruptibility of love. Quite the opposite. He strikes a tone neither cynical nor too-knowing, and he uncovers a richness and even generosity not usually associated with Marivaux. His characters love sincerely, and each one is lovable in his own right. Rosato’s Flaminia, for instance, is no bitch; she simply can’t help it if she understands human nature. This is no “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”--though it of course could be. In this production, some dignity is afforded even to the snobbish Lisette (Maria Canals) and a pasty-faced servant named Trivelin (Laurence O’Dwyer, with a wicked deadpan).

It is delicious fun watching the Prince’s household come together to seduce both Harlequin and Silvia. Harlequin loves to eat, and Trivelin offers him lovely banquets to get him away from Silvia. At first Harlequin doesn’t want to go. He can’t bear not to, though. He tests the water. Standing straight, he inquires painfully of Trivelin: “The soup . . .” and there’s a pause during which his body seems to tilt on an axis toward the dining room, “. . . is it good?”

Since many members of its audience did not speak Italian, the Comedie Italienne--the Italian-speaking Parisian theater for which Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux wrote this play--employed much physical clowning. Wadsworth has also supplied a very physical, choreographed production. As the plot intrigues circle and overlap, the characters circle one another as if performing an elaborate dance, all on the wooden floor of the remarkably handsome Thomas Lynch set. (Martin Pakledinaz’s costumes are ravishing as well.)

The cast is all on the same wavelength in orchestrating this lovely comic minuet. Rosato is outstanding as Flaminia, the smartest character; she moves her dainty wrists and her brow like an expert conjuror who performs magic with only the greatest delicacy. As Silvia, Brown is delightfully fresh and corruptible. O’Dwyer is a priceless Trivelin. Canals is wonderfully haughty as a lady who attaches beauty spots to her face; Stewart is a bit of a wet noodle as the Prince.

Wadsworth ends the evening with a pantomimed scene, a coda that touches on the real feelings of loss and fear underneath all of the characters’ brilliant engineering. The scene bespeaks the heartbreak of letting go of a dream, even one that has been willingly relinquished. Here, the sensibilities of Marivaux and Wadsworth dovetail beautifully; they are both the creators of this perfectly enchanting piece.

* “Changes of Heart,” Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., Tuesday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2:30 p.m. Ends Sept. 1. $28-$35.50. (213) 628-2772. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Kathryne Dora Brown: Silvia

Laurence O’Dwyer: Trivelin

Paul Anthony Stewart: The Prince

Mary Lou Rosato: Flaminia

Maria Canals: Lisette

John Michael Higgins: Harlequin

John Rafter Lee: A Lord

Lira Angel, Ginta Rae: Ladies-in-Waiting

Gibson Frazier, Larry Paulsen: Valets

A Mark Taper Forum production. By Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux. Translated, adapted and directed by Stephen Wadsworth. Sets Thomas P. Lynch. Costumes Martin Pakledinaz. Lights Michael Philippi. Sound Jon Gottlieb. Production stage manager Mary K Klinger.