Playwright: adapted by Freyda Thomas from the play by Jean-François Regnard
At: Northlight Theatre at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 North Skokie Boulevard in Skokie
Phone: 847-673-6300
Tickets: $32-$45
Runs through: April 29
by Mary Shen Barnidge
When a play opens with a costumed herald striking the stage three times with his staff and hitting his own foot on the third strike, it tells us that the author is familiar with the conventions of 17th-century French Court comedy&emdash;sufficiently familiar to have fun with them. The Gamester, technically, was written by Jean-François Regnard in 1696, but the production currently playing at Northlight Theatre owes more of its authorship to translator/ adapter Freyda Thomas.
And since Regnard, while competent, was no Molière, this is a lucky break for all involved.
The plot is standard for the period: Valère's gambling addiction threatens to leave him jilted by his beloved Angélique, disinherited by his father and abandoned by his valet. Impeding his attempts at reform are a wealthy widow who extends him loans in exchange for his&emdash;um, services, an old lecher with an eye on the aforementioned Angélique, and an earnest young swain enamored of a melancholy heiress ready to marry her fortune to the handsome profligate.
Thomas' brisk, colloquial translation combines the blank verse and rhymed couplets of her period with comfortably contemporary language and sensibilities to render a text as ticklishly giddy as a good champagne. "This [ girl ] is as stupid as Candide!" a character snaps in exasperation, while a shy suitor's stutter conveniently scans with the same metric grace as his non-spasmophemic comrades. And let's not forget the casino owner who cheerfully speculates, "I wouldn't be surprised if but one day/whole cities won't be built for folks to play."
Likewise fortuitous is Michael Halberstam's inventive direction, which keeps the pace lively but never rushed, and a cast who deliver their lofty speeches as casually and unaffectedly as if born to the idiom. Standout performances include Linda Kimbrough's lusty Mme. Securité, Scott Parkinson's put-upon Hector, Mark Ulrich's verbally challenged Marquis de Fauxpas, and Gail Rastorfer's shrewd Angélique ( who looks as fetching in men's clothes as in her own ) . Contributing mightily to the fun is Geoffrey M. Curley's wing-and-border set, Rachel Healy's Watteau-inspired costumes and subtle incidental music by Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman.
The Gamester does not seek to condemn what is, when practiced in moderation, a harmless amusement. Indeed, its final plea is one of tolerance and forgiveness&emdash;-a fitting sermon for a romantic springtime romp. And you can put money on that.