The first production of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 2011-2012 season, “The Heir Apparent,” is brilliant for three reasons. First, it begins with a deliciously satirical play, written in 1708 by the celebrated French playwright Jean-Francois Regnard; second, it’s translated and adapted by the inspired writer David Ives; third, the production benefits from the talents of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s gifted artistic director, actors and designers. Regnard followed in Moliere’s footsteps. In this, his most famous work, he pictures a likeable young man, Eraste (Andrew Veenstra), who is in love with a young girl, Isabelle (Meg Chambers Steedle).
But Eraste must prove that he will inherit his aged uncle’s wealth before Isabelle’s mother, Madame Argante (Nancy Robinette), will allow her daughter to marry him. Meanwhile, Eraste’s uncle, Geronte (Floyd King), has other plans for his money. It’s left up to Eraste’s wily servant, Crispin (Carson Elrod), to set things right.
Though the basic architecture of Regnard’s play forms the structure of this “Heir Apparent,” the play has been transformed by Ives’ verbal dexterity and uncanny ability to turn rhymed couplets into rhymed couplets extraordinaire, full of wit, bawdy humor and contemporary references.
Among other things, Ives establishes a game of verbal pingpong in which one character delivers a line and the next rhyming line is delivered by another character, a technique that adds to the sense that ideas spin from one character to another.
Michael Kahn directs an all-star cast with polish and intelligence, ensuring that the text has just the right amount of speed and energy. Though all the parts in “Heir Apparent” are important, the role of Crispin is essential, as he’s the key to Eraste’s success.
Elrod is a powerhouse of low-comedy know-how, unflappable while in a frenzy of continual movement or doing outrageous impersonations of Geronte’s relatives. Kelly Hutchinson is equally impressive as Crispin’s fianc?e, Lisette. Veenstra’s determined Eraste is particularly amusing when he, Lisette and Crispin hatch their goofy plan.
Robinette’s ditzy, condescending Madame Argante is a stunning new character type. King epitomizes the cranky old miser who has no family to cherish him in his old age. Both are hilarious in their inability to see who they are or how the world sees them.
This is the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 25th anniversary. It’s fitting that the company is celebrating it by mounting a production that involves so many people who are consummately skilled at turning words on the page into unforgettable moments of theater.
