Dangerous Liaisons (Les Liaisons Dangereuses)
Bag&Baggage Productions, The Venetian Theatre, Hillsboro OR, May 9-27, 2012
Director: Patrick Spike
Stage Manager: Becci Swearingen
Asst. Stage Manager / Dresser: Kirk Webster
Asst. Stage Manager: Heather Taylor
Scenic Designer: Gregory Pulver
Costume Designer: Melissa Heller
Lighting Designer: Kristeen Crosser
Props Master: Audra Petrie
Tech Dir / Master Builder: Demetri Pavlatos
Production Intern / Light Op: Anni Reilly
Production Intern / Dresser: Matt Kishlock
La Marquise de Merteuil: Adrienne Flagg
Mme de Volanges: Lori Van Dreal-Clark
Cecile Volange: Katie Mortemore
Le Vicomte de Valmont: Scot Carson
Azolan: Tylor Neist
Mme de Rosemonde: Pat Lach
La Presidente de Tourvel: Cassie Greer
Emilie: Megan Carver
Le Chevalier Danceny: Sean Lindsay
Stage Manager: Becci Swearingen
Asst. Stage Manager / Dresser: Kirk Webster
Asst. Stage Manager: Heather Taylor
Scenic Designer: Gregory Pulver
Costume Designer: Melissa Heller
Lighting Designer: Kristeen Crosser
Props Master: Audra Petrie
Tech Dir / Master Builder: Demetri Pavlatos
Production Intern / Light Op: Anni Reilly
Production Intern / Dresser: Matt Kishlock
La Marquise de Merteuil: Adrienne Flagg
Mme de Volanges: Lori Van Dreal-Clark
Cecile Volange: Katie Mortemore
Le Vicomte de Valmont: Scot Carson
Azolan: Tylor Neist
Mme de Rosemonde: Pat Lach
La Presidente de Tourvel: Cassie Greer
Emilie: Megan Carver
Le Chevalier Danceny: Sean Lindsay
Photography by Casey Campbell. These photos are the property of Patrick Spike, please do not duplicate, download, copy or print without expressed permission. Thank you.
Director's Notes from Playbill
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a novel written in the 1780's by a military man (Pierre-Ambroise-François Choderlos de Laclos), drew acute attention to the games being played by the aristocracy. It took the form of letters, composed between various members of the wealthy elite of 1780's France, and claims to have been inspired by real persons and events. It is a true classic, going on to inspire the stage script, a variety of films and even television mini series. The key players invite us into their wealthy, spoiled world of sexual combat, deceit, manipulation and conquest. It's a world of lavish extravagance where those at the top of the food chain, wield power over those around them. Attractive and seductive is their world.
Dangerous Liaisons is a snapshot of a particular moment in history, wherein this rarified society edges toward the brink of cataclysmic change. Shortly thereafter, France erupted into revolution, wherein the masses rose up against the unbalanced advantages of the wealthy, adopting a hatred of everything the aristocracy relished in as a symbol of their excesses. They fought against unfair taxation and mistreatment coming from the top down.
Yet this snapshot could have been taken at other periods in history as well, even here in America. In the 1980's popular programs such as Dynasty, Dallas, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous projected underlying feelings of longing and unrest, wherein we looked up to the wealthy elite, wielding their power, bathing in their excesses and whimsy. And today, don't we find similar unrest? The 99% have risen up to express boldly and loudly their dissatisfaction in the taxes they pay, without clear return of benefit, while the wealthy elite on Wall street have powerful aids who find loop holes so they can pocket the excess money and wield the power it affords.
And yet we're drawn in... We love these characters and their vices. This is what keeps the story alive over the decades, and centuries. This is a morality tale of interpersonal battle between extremely adept adversaries, as well as the tale of those their games trample upon. It's a story of calculated cruelty that we find we're compelled to peak into for the longing of such a lavish existence, and the absolute skill of those playing the game. We admire them, while we loath them. We as audience share a common secret that we enjoy their successes, while condemning their tactics. True anti-heroes they are, at the core.
In France, nostalgia still exists for the beauty, grandeur, cultural sophistication and social grace of this era, now long gone. The revolution toppled the aristocracy, and all the beauty it encompassed... a trade off. Hatred and disdain replaced the glorious rococo, yet the longing still persists.
“Celui qui n'a pas vécu au dix-huitième siècle avant la Révolution ne connaît pas la douceur de vivre: ("Those who have not lived in the eighteenth century before the Revolution do not know the sweetness of living") - Talleyrand
Director's research notes for production - download pdf file
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a novel written in the 1780's by a military man (Pierre-Ambroise-François Choderlos de Laclos), drew acute attention to the games being played by the aristocracy. It took the form of letters, composed between various members of the wealthy elite of 1780's France, and claims to have been inspired by real persons and events. It is a true classic, going on to inspire the stage script, a variety of films and even television mini series. The key players invite us into their wealthy, spoiled world of sexual combat, deceit, manipulation and conquest. It's a world of lavish extravagance where those at the top of the food chain, wield power over those around them. Attractive and seductive is their world.
Dangerous Liaisons is a snapshot of a particular moment in history, wherein this rarified society edges toward the brink of cataclysmic change. Shortly thereafter, France erupted into revolution, wherein the masses rose up against the unbalanced advantages of the wealthy, adopting a hatred of everything the aristocracy relished in as a symbol of their excesses. They fought against unfair taxation and mistreatment coming from the top down.
Yet this snapshot could have been taken at other periods in history as well, even here in America. In the 1980's popular programs such as Dynasty, Dallas, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous projected underlying feelings of longing and unrest, wherein we looked up to the wealthy elite, wielding their power, bathing in their excesses and whimsy. And today, don't we find similar unrest? The 99% have risen up to express boldly and loudly their dissatisfaction in the taxes they pay, without clear return of benefit, while the wealthy elite on Wall street have powerful aids who find loop holes so they can pocket the excess money and wield the power it affords.
And yet we're drawn in... We love these characters and their vices. This is what keeps the story alive over the decades, and centuries. This is a morality tale of interpersonal battle between extremely adept adversaries, as well as the tale of those their games trample upon. It's a story of calculated cruelty that we find we're compelled to peak into for the longing of such a lavish existence, and the absolute skill of those playing the game. We admire them, while we loath them. We as audience share a common secret that we enjoy their successes, while condemning their tactics. True anti-heroes they are, at the core.
In France, nostalgia still exists for the beauty, grandeur, cultural sophistication and social grace of this era, now long gone. The revolution toppled the aristocracy, and all the beauty it encompassed... a trade off. Hatred and disdain replaced the glorious rococo, yet the longing still persists.
“Celui qui n'a pas vécu au dix-huitième siècle avant la Révolution ne connaît pas la douceur de vivre: ("Those who have not lived in the eighteenth century before the Revolution do not know the sweetness of living") - Talleyrand
Director's research notes for production - download pdf file