Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati’s stage for the classics, is pleased to present Christopher Hampton’s “Dangerous Liaisons”, playing from February 15- March 10, 2013. This production is directed by Drew Fracher and features CSC Resident Ensemble Members Giles Davies, Corinne Mohlenhoff, Sherman Fracher and Kelly Mengelkoch. The design of this production is generously sponsored by Legg Mason Investment Counsel and the media sponsor is CET Cincinnati Educational Television.
In pre-Revolutionary France, two long time friends and occasional passionate lovers, the Vicomte de Valmont (Giles Davies) and the Marquise de Merteuil (Corinne Mohlenhoff), amuse themselves by orchestrating a plot of seduction for two young women of virtue, Cécile Volanges (Bailie Breaux) and La Présidente de Tourvel (Kelly Mengelkoch). As their cynical game proceeds, their motives become darker – and more deadly. Filled with seduction, duplicity, and plenty of forbidden passion, this dark and delicious intrigue paints a portrait of the pre-Revolutionary French aristocracy in all its cynicism and decadence.
This production welcomes back Cincinnati favorite Giles Davies to the stage as the Vicomte de Valmont, a notorious bachelor who never expects to fall in love with one of the women he has been challenged to seduce. The production also features several of Cincinnati’s best talent, including Corinne Mohlenhoff, Sherman Fracher and Kelly Mengelkoch (more details below). “Dangerous Liaisons” is a theatrical adaptation by Christopher Hampton of the 18th-century French novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It was staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985 by a cast including Lindsay Duncan as the Marquise de Merteuil and Alan Rickman as the Vicomte de Valmont. In 1988, a drama film of “Dangerous Liaisons” was released featuring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Uma Thurman and Michelle Pfeiffer. Audiences may also recognize the story from the popular 1999 movie “Cruel Intentions”, which was also adapted from this classic play.