Love, Loyalty, Lying, and Laughs Open Park Square's 42nd Season

Park Square opens its 42nd season with the area premiere of David Ives's riotous comedyThe Liar. Based on a classic seventeenth-century play, Ives's adaptation is a mischievous, joyous and hilarious send-up of prevarication and pursuit, combining verbal gymnastics with sidesplitting physical comedy. Of the play, NPR said, "...the rat-a-tat of rapid-fire quips is nearly continually uproarious as reupholstered for modern ears and sensibilities."

Doug Scholz-Carlson, who directs, says, "The Liar was written in the 1640s by Corneille and then adapted to be a modern production by David Ives, so it has elements of the 1640s and elements of the modern, so we're hoping to capture both those things." Don Livingston, premiere harpsichordist and artistic director of the Twin Cities Early Music Festival, performs original live music.

Cliton (Zach Curtis*) can't tell a lie, but his master Dorante (Sha' Cage*) can't tell the truth. Through artful avoidance of any semblance of the truth, the young, charming and fleet-tongued fabricator contrives in the space of little more than a day to woo two skeptical and sophisticated damsels, (India Gurley and Sara Richardson*), but he doesn't know who's who. As Dorante is progressively caught up in his own deceptions, only the ensuing complications and misunderstandings provide him cover from exposure. Sharp and saucy modern language adds zest to this sparkling urbane romance.

David Ives has been one of America's most popular comic playwrights over the past three decades, and he's recently made a cottage industry of recrafting, transforming, or, as he refers to The Liar, "translapting" long-forgotten texts and topics. Written by the controversial French tragedian Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur was first produced in 1644 and has largely lived in the dustbin of literary history. In 2010 Ives told NPR of when he first encountered the play: "I had never heard of The Liar nor had my agent nor had any of my friends in the theater. So, I presumed that this was some dreary unknown hammer-handed play from the 17th century and in French. But I was absolutely delighted by this play. And I wasn't 15 pages in before I knew that I had to do it."

Shanan Custer, Rex Isom Jr., JuCoby Johnson, and Michael Ooms round out the cast.

The production team for The Liar includes Rebecca Bernstein (Costume Designer), Mike P. Kittel (Lighting Designer), Eli Schlatter (Scenic Designer), and Abbee Warmboe (Properties Designer).

The Liar Performance Schedule: Previews begin Friday, September 9, and continue through Thursday, September 15.September 16 is Opening Night, and the run continues through October 2. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. except for Saturday and Sunday matinees, which begin at 2 p.m. All performances are in the company's Proscenium Stage in Saint Paul's historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place.

Ticket prices: Previews: $27 and $37. Regular Run: $40 and $60. Discounts are available for seniors, military personnel, those under age 30, and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square ticket office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday), or online at www.parksquaretheatre.org. #PSTTheLiar

*Member, Actors Equity Association