Marivaux's THE FALSE SERVANT Runs Now thru 9/6 at the Odyssey

Seduction. Money. Power. Cross-dressing. Odyssey Theatre Ensemble toasts the 20th anniversary of frequent producing partner Evidence Room, as the two companies band together to present The False Servant by Marivaux. Bart DeLorenzo directs the Los Angeles premiere of a new adaptation by Martin Crimp for tonight's July 3 opening. The Odyssey Theatre has been Evidence Room's artistic home since 2009.

On the surface, The False Servant is a sly 18th century romp in which a young girl dresses as a man to learn more about her husband-to-be. But a world of darker meaning lies beneath the wit and verbal exuberance. In Marivaux's heartless comedy of bad manners, lust and avarice infringe upon the finer feelings of love.

"Marivaux explores the ambiguities of classic comedy - the nature of love and of attraction - in a very modern way," says DeLorenzo. "Martin Crimp gives us a translation that feels fresh and alive, yet still retains the precision of Marivaux's language."

Chastity Dotson stars as the "Chevalier," a young Parisian woman who disguises herself as a gentleman and, together with her scheming servant, Trivelin (Barry Del Sherman), sets out to discover the true motives of her fiancé. Indeed, she soon learns that Lélio (Christian Leffler) is a manipulative libertine who has also promised himself in marriage to a rich and attractive Countess (Dorie Barton). The production also features Mathew Bazulka and Cody Chappel as Arlequin and Frontin.

"What I find interesting about Marivaux is his perpetual appetite for experiment," said Crimp in an interview. "He always writes incredibly difficult situations, and then he sets himself and his characters the task of getting out of those situations. It's almost meta-theatrical in the sense that the mechanism of the theater is being shown on the surface, but at the same time the human relations are very honest and true underneath."

Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763), commonly referred to as "Marivaux," wrote over thirty comedies of love and intrigue. His work was so distinctive that the French coined a word, marivaudage, that signifies the flirtatious, bantering tone characteristic of his dialogue. Now considered to be one of the most important French playwrights of the eighteenth century, his comedies were originally performed in Paris at the Comédie-Italienne and at its rival company across town, the Comédie-Française. In addition to his theatrical work, Marivaux also published a number of essays and left two unfinished novels. Marivaux was elected a member, or "immortel," of the Académie Française in 1742.

Bart DeLorenzo is the artistic director of the Evidence Room. At the Odyssey, he has previously directed Odyssey/Evidence Room co-productions of Passion Play, Annapurna, Ivanov, Margo Veil and The Receptionist, as well as Day Drinkers and A Number. Other recent work: I See You Made an Effort at the Skylight Theatre, tokyo fish story and Fast Company at South Coast Rep, Death of the Author and Coney Island Christmas at the Geffen Playhouse, The Night Watcher at Studio Theatre, Cymbeline at A Noise Within, Legacy of Light at the Cleveland Playhouse, King Lear with the Antaeus Company, and The Projectionist at the Kirk Douglas. He is on the faculty at CalArts. He has received LA Drama Critics Circle awards (including the Milton Katselas Award for career achievement), LA Weekly awards, Backstage Garlands, and the Alan Schneider Director Award.

Set design for The False Servant is by Frederica Nascimento, lighting design is by Michael Gend, original music and sound design is by John Ballinger, and costume design is by Leah Piehl.

Performances of The False Servant take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., July 3 through Sept. 6. (dark July 4; on Sunday, July 5 only, the performance will be at 5 p.m. with no 2 p.m. matinee.) Additional weeknight performances are scheduled on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on July 29 and Aug. 12, and on Thursdays at 8 p.m. on July 23, Aug. 6 and Aug. 20. Tickets are $34 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and $25 on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with $20 tickets available for seniors and $15 tickets for students and members of SAG/AFTRA/AEA. There will be three "Tix for $10" performances on Friday, July 10; Thursday, July 23; and Wednesday, July 29. The third Friday of every month is wine night at the Odyssey: enjoy complimentary wine and snacks and mingle with the cast after the show. The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025. For reservations and information, call (310) 477-2055 or go to www.OdysseyTheatre.com.

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