Dangerous

From British playwright Christopher Hampton's stage adaptation to the 1988 movie starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' famous epistolary novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) has been adapted many times. Playwright Tom Smith's version transports the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont, two rival aristocrats who use sex as a weapon to humiliate and degrade others for kicks, to modern-day gay San Francisco. Marcus (Javier Galitó-Cava) and Alexander (Donald G. Emmerich) play the Merteuil and Valmont roles, respectively, with bitchy panache. Strutting about in form-fitting designer outfits (a costume change marks their almost every entrance), the two are evenly matched when it comes to promiscuity, deviousness, and good fashion sense. Coquettish performances from all cast members under Clay David's agile direction make the most of the manipulative sexual power games between Marcus, Alexander, and their various exploits, such as the young priest Trevor (Mike Fallon) and the wealthy and avuncular Rosemonde (Richard Ryan). Yet Smith's overwrought, exposition-riddled plot and cheesy dialogue often make Dangerous feel more like a daytime soap than a play.