Laguna Blanca Theater’s fall production of “The Liar,” directed by Mr. Joseph Beck, took audiences on a comical tour of 1960s Paris, complete with sassy French girls, bumbling young men seeking love, and a classic rendition of Laguna’s own, Mr. Peter Angeloff.
The play, adapted by David Ives from the original French version by Pierre Corneille, opens with an introductory monologue from the manservant Cliton, played by freshman Connor Curran. We immediately discover that the performance will be in verse—iambic pentameter to be exact—a tactic that compliments the show’s comic elements.
Next, we meet the cunning Dorante, a young man just arrived in Paris, played by senior Cameron Platt. It is quickly established that Dorante is a chronic liar, using his quick tongue and wit to make his way in life. In contrast, Cliton can only tell the truth.
We soon meet Clarice and Lucrese: a female-duo played by freshmen Allie Towbes and Mia Chavez, respectively. Dorante tries to woo Clarice, with some avail, but fails to learn her name.
Confusion begins to fester, as a mistaken encounter with Lucrese’s maid Isabelle, played by freshman Emma Klein, leads Dorante and Cliton into mixing up the two women. Nothing is made simpler by the fact that Clarice’s maid Sabine, played by sophomore Hannah Nagy, is Isabelle’s twin sister.
“The play is so confusing because of all of the different situations, even the characters themselves are confused,” said sophomore Kaylee Strachan. Kaylee played Philliste, the friend of Alcippe, who is played by Senior Ari Rodriguez.
After meeting this pair, we come across Dorante’s father, the vibrant Geronte, played by junior Zoe Serbin.
For the production, Geronte’s character was modeled after physics and astronomy teacher Mr. Peter Angeloff, better known as Ace.
On channeling Ace, Zoe said, “I observed him closely during class, and every performance I would just try to think of his beautiful face and glowing personality, and try to embody that glory.”
On being channeled, all Ace had to say was, “Serbin does Angeloff better than Angeloff.”