Classic comedy of manners 'She Stoops to Conquer' turns back time at Albuquerque Little Theatre

Step back in time with Albuquerque Little Theatre’s production of “She Stoops to Conquer,” a 1773 comedy of manners by English playwright Oliver Goldsmith.

“We have a wonderful production team that has re-created, in the Albuquerque Little Theatre space, the look of an 18th century playhouse that we would have encountered in 1773 in (London’s entertainment hub) Covent Garden,” Brent Whitted, play director, said.

Authentic period details include Georgian-style furniture and a hand-painted proscenium archway, created by scenic designer Lauren Dusek Albonico, master carpenter Jason Roman and scenic painter Dean Squibb, whom Whitted refers to collectively as “a brilliant triumvirate of talent.”

“As soon as people walk into the theater, the first thing that they’ll see, because the green curtain will be down, are the trappings of a theatrical world that hasn’t really existed since the late 18th century.”

Whitted was meticulous about re-creating the pre-Victorian aesthetics of the play’s historical context and, as much as possible, preserving the original language of the script. But he has also added more movement and physical humor to appeal to modern audiences.

“I’ve added a lot of stage business that isn’t in the script, but I’ve done so in the attempt to accentuate the play’s eccentricities, and to add to the fun for the actors and the audience, so they’re invited into the world of the play,” Whitted said.

Even the physical comedy is historically grounded. Whitted borrowed slapstick routines from commedia dell’arte, which was popular in Goldsmith’s time.

“There’s even a food fight,” he said. “So, the play has something for all ages.”

“She Stoops to Conquer” is a story of family intrigue, competing alliances and mistaken identities. As a classic comedy of manners, it also satirizes class dynamics.

“We have two sons of people of means, who’ve come to the countryside from London. They have cultural capital, money, freedom and luxury. And they’re trying to ingratiate themselves into a world defined by characters representing a more bourgeois lifestyle, who have earned their status through hard work and upward social mobility,” Whitted said.

Kate Hardcastle, the “she” of the title, is “a master of code-switching,” according to Whitted.

“She’s able to play the dance of the upper class and also appease her father, who is more bourgeois,” he said. “And she is able, in the name of love and authentic human feeling, to get the man that she wants, who, despite the fact that he has all the social cachet, is still unable to ingratiate himself with ladies of his own status.”

In order to win this wealthy but socially awkward object of her desire, Hardcastle pretends to be from a lower-status family. In other words, she “stoops” to conquer.

Another character in the play, Tony Lumpkin, refuses to play the social game at all.

“He revolts against the social machine that eventually became the Victorian social order that Oscar Wilde infamously lampooned from the inside out,” Whitted said. “In a way, the character Tony … is an emblem for what the American Revolution stood for.”

Goldsmith wrote “She Stoops to Conquer” at a time when tensions between the American colonists and England were reaching a fever pitch. The play premiered in March 1773, and the Boston Tea Party occurred in December.

Goldsmith was fascinated by the United States and had hoped to emigrate there.

“The fun fact is that he booked a ticket for a boat across the Atlantic to go to the United States, but apparently he missed the boat,” Whitted said. “If he had made that trip, we wouldn’t be watching this play today.”

Whitted encourages audiences to read a synopsis of the play beforehand to help them follow along.

“This play definitely addresses those constants in the human condition that will allow people to connect with these characters, even if the language with which they speak these concerns and desires and yearnings might be outdated,” Whitted said.

“But the way the actors portray those (desires) will carry across. And whatever doesn’t will be compensated for with the physical humor and the delightful spectacle that we’re going to present to them.”