‘Triumph of Love’ Has Own Charm

For its Central Coast debut courtesy of the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera, the deceptively effervescent “Triumph of Love” finds itself in the capable hands of director Jules Aaron and an all-professional cast. The result is a fine opportunity to catch this underappreciated musical adaptation of a 1732 romantic farce by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux--the French dramatist whose work, like his name, cries out for serious pruning.

Happily pared down to plot essentials in James Magruder’s book, and complemented by Susan Birkenhead’s smart, incisive lyrics and the surprising stylistic range of Jeffrey Stock’s score, Marivaux’s refined subtleties have morphed into an offbeat mix of burlesque and comedy of manners. Despite its short-lived 1997 Broadway run, the show is enjoying more favorable attention in recent regional revivals.

A meditation on the lengths to which we’ll go to obtain our hearts’ desires, the story revolves around the ambitious and willful Princess Leonide of Sparta (Tami Tappan), who has passed over all her kingdom’s available suitors for forbidden fruit--in this case Agis (David Burnham), a handsome, celibate student of reason who’s been cloistered under the tutelage of his philosopher uncle (Mark Capri) and equally intellectual aunt (Christopher Callen). As usual, there are complications--unbeknownst to Leonide, Agis is actually the legitimate heir to the throne and is sworn to kill the usurping princess he’s never seen.

Having set her sights on this youth whom she’s only glimpsed once, Leonide, disguised as a man, infiltrates the family’s Edenic garden and befriends Agis. When the uncle sees through her ruse, she seduces him as a woman, while also encouraging (again as a man) the passionate advances of the aunt in order to win her consent for remaining on the premises.

Each of these conquests plunges the victim into a crisis of allegiance to his or her lofty cerebral principles. Thus, “Triumph of Love” brings to the bright surface a theme that usually remains subtextual in book musicals: the war between heart and head. Here the boundaries become fluid, and the characters are constantly switching sides--the aunt and uncle giving themselves over to passion, the romantic Leonide forced into ever more cunning stratagems, and poor Agis torn down the middle.

Though Aaron consistently steers his staging toward the sunny side, “Triumph of Love” could easily support a more sober vision, hinted at in the crushed expectations of the deceived and in Leonide’s introspective grappling with the consequences of her ruthless pragmatism. Here, the clouds are momentary--probably an appropriately cautious choice for the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera, which is struggling to retain its traditional audience for safe, familiar revivals while reinventing itself with more adventurous offerings.

An invaluable crowd-pleasing anchor in this production is the first-rate clowning supplied by Stephanie J. Block, Patrick Richwood and Michael Kostroff as the bawdy, rambunctious servants who also double as the chorus. Though its musical lineage can be traced back to classical-themed romps like “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “The Boys From Syracuse,” “Triumph of Love” has a quirky charm all its own--once you accept it’s a more intimate show than the typical lavish spectacle.

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* “Triumph of Love,” Granada Theatre, 1216 State St., Santa Barbara. Thursdays, Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Today, 3 p.m. Ends Feb. 11. $12-$47. (800) 366-6064. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes.