Word: brawleys
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...bumpkin rustic, Corin. Chuck O'Toole '97 plays Orlando's usurping elder brother Oliver as a marvelously villainous fop in the first act, although his performance wavers toward the end of the play with his character's transformation into a repentant lover. And Scott Brown '98 and Lucia Brawley '99 are delightful in their interpretations of the hapless shepherd Silvius and the arrogant shepherdess-turned-funk-queen Phebe--a pair given little depth in the text, but lent tremendous personality in this production...
...most despicable (and most entertaining) characters in the play are La Marquise de Merteuil (Lucia Brawley '99) and Le Vicomte de Valmont (Bryan Leach '00). These two connivers, who are obviously meant for each other, spend much of the show trading quips. Their relationship is based on a twisted love: rather than acting on their mutual feelings, they compete against each other. Merteuil and Valmont make a wager that involves deceiving and seducing most of the other members of the cast. The problem is that they cannot avoid becoming entangled in their own web, and their game becomes dangerous...
Leach gives an effective performance as the dastardly Valmont. Remarkably, for much of the play there is something likable, and even enviable, about his character. Brawley is also well cast as La Marquise de Mertueil, displaying her character's sinful grace as well as the heartache that has made her so hardened. The scenes with Leach and Brawley, filled with snappy retorts and romantic tensions, are especially entertaining. The rest of the cast members fill their niches well, with Anna Lewis and Vanessa Reisen giving standout performances in smaller roles...
...Valmont and Mertueil's scheme starts to wreak havoc in their own lives. Valmont is torn between La Presidente de Tourvel, whom he claims to have fallen in love with, and La Marquise de Mertueil, who holds considerable power over him. The sense of unspoken attachment between Leach and Brawley is perhaps too good, because this turn of events does not seem believable. There is a fatal swordfight between Valmont and Le Chevalier Danceny that continues for too long, stretching out the play's final scenes when they should be compressed to make the downfall of Valmont and Mertueil seem...
BORN: Jan. 14, 1943, Charleston, S.C. EDUCATION: Clemson U, B.A., 1965; M.I.T., M.A., 1970 FAMILY: Wife, Lucinda Brawley; four children RELIGION: Baptist MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Architect POLITICAL CAREER: Charlotte City Council, 1975-79, mayor, 1983-87; Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate...