It has been a little while now since there have been any theatre and dance performances at UW due to the holidays, but their first show of the new spring season, "The Beaux Stratagem," kicks off on February 7th and plays through the 11th. Nightly performances will be held at the Fine Arts Main Stage and start at 7:30 PM. Tickets, which you can buy online or by contacting the box office, are $7 for students, $14 for the general public and $11 for seniors. 

“The Beaux’ Stratagem” is George Farquhar’s delightful tale of two insolvent rakes who to try to marry into money to replenish their coffers. Go see a late Restoration classic with a surprisingly moral compass. The show was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre in London in 1707, and was one of the most frequently performed English comedies for over a century, enjoying constant revivals. Director of the play, John O’Hagan, mentioned:

I was originally planning to direct “She Stoops to Conquer” [a later, sentimental comedy of manners], but I just wasn’t satisfied with it and I wanted something with a few more layers of action to it. 

That’s when colleague Lee Hodgson turned O’Hagan on to a much earlier work, “The Beaux’ Stratagem.”

 The beautiful thing about this play is how it bridges two eras so wonderfully; it retains elements of the more raucous Restoration comedies, but it sets for us characters and conventions that will find their fruition in the sentimental comedies of the later 18th century.

 I just loved how intelligent the play was, and all the layers and complications in it, and how the subplots allowed the minor characters to have more voice and business.

The story centers on aristocratic rakes Tom Aimwell and Jack Archer, who have nearly exhausted their limited inheritances on drink and gambling. With a mere 200 pounds left between them, these two younger sons leave the high life in London for the countryside in hopes of marrying rich and repairing their fortunes. Posing as master and servant, they determine to roam about until they find a wealthy heiress for at least one of them to marry.  But their scheming is soon complicated by true love and a band of thieves, to hilarious effect.

We’re taking a light-hearted approach to this piece, noted O’Hagan. The play is really frothy and fun and it’s truly a language-based, witty piece.

 O’Hagan notes that although the play also has some serious undertones concerning marriage and society, for the most part these rise to the surface throughout without disturbing the comedy.

Farquhar wrote what made him laugh, said O’Hagan. The play pokes some holes in and has some fun with the moral and societal strictures of the time, but it’s firmly tongue-in-cheek; he lets the political ideas come through without being terribly overt, he added.

While making a 300-year old comedy relevant to modern audiences has been a challenge, the play itself has provided enough wit and wisdom and comic business to make the undertaking great fun.

It’s just been a delight to direct, said O’Hagan. The cast is really energized by the work and the piece is coming along nicely.

More information on 'The Beaux Stratagem" can be obtained by contacting the UW Fine Arts Box office online or by calling (307) 766-6666.

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