There are sword fights, acrobatics, disguises and a slew of wooing words in the University of Maine’s wonderfully outrageous production of “The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs” being performed through Sunday at Hauck Auditorium.
The play is a loving tribute to and a sendup of 17th century romances, best known to the English-speaking world through the writings of William Shakespeare. It turns out, he had contemporaries in Europe. One was Ana Caro Mallen de Soto, who wrote this revenge story around 1637.
While English law forbade women from acting on stage, no such ban existed in Spain, where Caro lived and wrote during that country’s Golden Age. Much of her work has been lost but “The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrong” survived and was adapted, with some modern sensibilities, by UMaine’s Rosalie Purvis and James David Jacobs. Purvis also directed this production.
The story may sound familiar. Don Juan (Jack Arey), with his servant Tomillo (Sadie Higgins), has fled Seville and left behind his sweetheart Dona Leonor (Blue Schade), who is determined to exact revenge as he woos Dona Estela (Emmalyse Wozniak) in another city. Leonor disguises herself as Don Leonardo, and with her servant Ribete (Wyatt Gamage), follows him. She plans to seduce Estela in an attempt to right the wrongs of Don Juan. Along the way, Leonora meets Prince Ludovico (Zachary George), her brother Don Fernanco (Alex Luna Melendez) and Estela’s cousin Lisarda (Inanna Piccinni).
This story is narrated, sort of, by the drag-inspired MC (Sam LaPlante). The character is a dash of Greek chorus, a smidge chronicler but for most of the play, the MC is a ringmaster introducing characters, stopping the action to redirect the narrative to keep the story moving to its surprising conclusion.
Arey is mesmerizing. His Don Juan is a lothario to the tenth degree — vain, self-aggrandizing, a gift to all women and an absolutely charming scoundrel it is impossible not to love. Purvis gave him permission to lampoon the image of the reprobate who loves himself more than anyone else until shown the error of his ways.
This is a delightfully over-the-top performance with energy exuding from Arey’s every pore. Despite his standout performance, the second-year theater major from North Yarmouth works beautifully with his fellow actors to create a fine ensemble rather than to succumb to the temptation to upstage them.
As Leonor/Leonardo, Schade, a second-year student from St. Louis, Missouri, is Arey’s equal in the passion-department. Their agility, whether swashbuckling, swordfighting or snarling, is amazing. Her connection to Arey is magical and utterly believable.
LaPlante adroitly knocks down the fourth wall in Hauck to engage directly with the audience. The second-year student from South Portland expertly reels in the audience for this roller-coaster-ride of a production. They give a sweet, tongue-in-cheek performance that is, at times, hysterical.
Director Purvis keeps the pace going at an often breakneck speed that gives an urgency to Leonor’s thirst to right Don Juan’s wrongs. This ensemble functions like a well-oiled machine. From the opening line to the curtain call it was obvious Saturday that the cast, crew and audience were having a ball.
Technically, this production is monstrous. Scenic Designer Dan Bilodeau added a thrust to the stage that juts far out into the audience. The low platform that rests on its edges makes the set look like it is inside a circus ring. The faux fountain center stage is well-used by the actors and reminds the audience that it’s not in the world of Shakespeare any more.
The light and sound design by JP Sedlock along with stunning costumes by Janet Sussman perfectly complement Purvis’ vision for the show.
This is not the first time Purvis has brought a new translation of an international classic to the university. Two years ago, she directed “The Post Office,” a 1912 piece by Indian playwright Rabindranath Tagore. Purvis also worked on that adaptation as co-translator with Debaroti Chakraborty.
Purvis, the Libra assistant professor of theatre and English, is a fairly recent addition to the faculty. She was hired in 2020 and brings an international perspective to students and audiences that is welcome, refreshing and challenging.
“Her research focuses on border studies, staging fiction and poetry, intercultural and multi-lingual literature and performance, translation theory, praxis as research, transgressive cross-embodiment, and international/intersectional queer performance,” Purvis’ UMaine biography says.
She is not only broadening her students’ understanding of theater outside the English-speaking world, she is challenging Greater Bangor’s theatergoing audience to experience art that it is unfamiliar with.
I, for one, am exceedingly grateful for her work.
“The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hauck Auditorium at the University of Maine in Orono. For tickets, call 581-1755 or visit umaine.edu/spa/tickets.
