Lady Sneerwell and her low-rent henchman Mr. Snake plot their machinations right at the beginning of Richard Brinsley Sheridan'sby walking through the DeLuxe Theatre's auditorium and into the aisles. Patrons swing their legs out of the way, some stand up to let them freely pass, while the two continue their conversational mischief unconcerned for those they're disrupting. It's an appropriate visual for the social disturbance they will eventually cause. They don't care.
A huge hit at its premiere even among the audience it skewered, it propelled Sheridan into superstardom and secured his place as the most famous playwright of his time.made his fortune. That he would eventually lose it all, dying under a mountain of debt, even after 32 years as a member of Parliament and owner of London's Drury Lane Theatre, is subject for another play, but in 1777 he had the world at his velvet-slippered feet.
But don't fear, we're in most capable hands, for the director and adapter is Philip Lehl, one of Houston theater's gold standards. Certifiably one of our finest and most perceptive actors, Lehl is a distinctive director, witness his last work for Classical, Thomas Heywood's Jacobean picaresque adventure,Consider Scandal as bookend.
The cast of six play beautifully together without succumbing to any more artifice than Sheridan requires. Elissa Cuellar, as Lady Teazle, is a modern young bride to old Sir Teazle . Their love/hate battle scenes are a joy to watch and hear, as each jockey for the upper hand.