LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES Comes to the Blackfriars Theatre This Month

Join Blackfriars Theatre for a game of revenge and manipulation set in pre-Revolutionary France. The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont are former lovers who share an appetite for seduction. Merteuil goads Valmont into corrupting the virtuous and betrothed Cecile de Volanges, but Valmont has his eye on another prize: the honorable Madame de Tourvel. A twisted tale of seduction, this is a classic drama exploring decadent sexuality, morals, and manipulation played as the ultimate game, with tragic results.

 

First-time Blackfriars director, Carl Del Buono, is making a name for himself in the Rochester area as someone who can deftly handle classic material while bringing a modern twist to it, making it not only relatable, but also intriguing and entertaining to today's audiences. This is a talent that Blackfriars leadership wanted to take advantage of for this production. “This was a script I was already interested in producing when I came to Blackfriars in 2022,” says Blackfriars artistic director, Brynn Tyszka. “When we decided on Liaisons for the 74th season, we knew that Carl would bring his fun and sexy vibe to it, and he's delivered in spades.”

 

"It's truly an honor to be able to work on such a complex project with these incredibly skilled artists and technicians,” says Del Buono. “This story and these characters are so full of beauty and pain and contradictions, it's honestly been thrilling to try and navigate all of the opposing viewpoints and objectives and get to the heart of the piece, which I think is this really deep shared hunger. They just want to eat each other alive."

 

Blackfriars Theatre is also collaborating with local businesses to help spread the work about this piece. In addition to partnering with The Little Theatre on a screening of Cruel Intentions, the popular 1999 film adaptation of the classic novel, Blackfriars has also partnered its reading group, the BT Book Club, with Writers & Books to host a January play reading of the script in advance of the production's opening. “Writers & Books welcomes opportunities to partner with local arts organizations, bringing different mediums together through the power of storytelling,” says deputy director of Writers & Books, Chris Fanning. “We look forward to working with our friends at Blackfriars this season and for seasons to come.”

 

Les Liaisons Dangereuses stars Vicki Casarett (Madame de Rosemonde), Campbell McDade Clay (Cecile Volanges), Samantha P. J. Gibson (Madame de Volanges), Joshua Gleason (Le Chevalier Danceny), Erin-Kate Howard (La Marquise de Merteuil), Benjamin McRae (Azolan), Sophia Mostafa (Emilie), Kit Prelewitz (Madame de Tourvel), Jimmy Stahl (Major-domo), Rick Staropoli (Le Vicomte de Valmont) and is directed by Carl Del Buono.