The Libertine

"You will not like me," states John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, very matter-of-factly in the opening monologue of Stephen Jeffreys' "The Libertine." But we find him, like all very naughty boys, attractive despite our better judgment.

As portrayed by Ken Schatz, Wilmot has a vigorous wit and playful charm. He is arrogant, a serial debaucher, and a self-righteous aristocrat. It's quite clear that as a favorite of King Charles II (Rufus Collins), Wilmot can have nearly whatever—and whomever—he wants at any time. The flip side of this freedom is that few things challenge him. Like all nobility of his time, for Wilmot (as he puts it), "Our boredom is so intense that we make dangerous things happen."

His search for excitement brings him to Lizzy Barry (Carey Urban), an actress of little ability who is about to be dismissed by her director. A playwright and director himself, Wilmot decides to train her. As she gains some success on stage, they become lovers. At the same time, the king asks Wilmot to write a play to celebrate his reign.

But Wilmot has a wildly self-destructive streak. As he says, "I must always go too far. It is my genius." His relationship with Barry destroys his marriage to the patient Elizabeth (Andrus Nichols). And instead of writing a reverent homage to Charles II, he pens a dark satire about "Signore Dildo" and fills it with phallic imagery. The king is enraged, and Wilmot devolves into an alcoholic haze.

This 1994 play may be better known as the basis for the 2004 Johnny Depp film, for which Jeffreys wrote the screenplay. The story is also reminiscent of the play and film "Dangerous Liaisons," in which an aristocratic rake is undone by love. Pulling off such a story and making the character's transition believable is no easy task. In unsure hands, Wilmot could quickly become a caricature.

Thanks to Eric Tucker's vibrant direction, this is not the case. The incisive portrayals by Collins, Urban, and Nichols—all of whom are terrific—create a tightly dramatic pull on Schatz's Wilmot that makes the play work. And Schatz plays Wilmot with a humanity and humor that make his undoing all the more tragic.




Presented by the Fools' Theatre at the Chernuchin Theatre,314 W. 54th St., NYC. May 14–30. Wed.–Sat, 8 p.m.; Sat.–Sun., 3 p.m.; (212) 352-3101; www.theatermania.com or www.thefoolstheatre.com.