It’s Easy to Fall for These Schemes

“Triumph of Love” is a triumph for Long Beach’s International City Theatre.

Like “Side Show,” “Triumph of Love” is a little musical that didn’t last long on Broadway in late 1997 but appears very much alive in the more intimate environs of a Southern California mid-size theater in 2002.

This “Triumph” shares a leading lady with the Colony Theatre’s recent production of “Side Show.” Misty Cotton sings with clarion power and brings plenty of engaging enthusiasm to the character of Princess Leonide--enough to make us excuse the character’s more manipulative qualities.

Leonide’s a schemer, all right. Although she rules make-believe “Sparta,” she has fallen for the young recluse Agis (Damon Kirsche), who lives in an “18th century Greco-French topiary,” beyond the city limits. To get closer to him, she dons men’s clothes and ensnares the affections of the two stuffy sibling philosophers who run the topiary: a woman (Teri Ralston) who thinks Leonide is a man, and a man (Michael Zemenick) who discovers Leonide’s a woman.

Based on an 18th century comedy by Pierre Marivaux that also has been adapted in recent years as a nonmusical play (South Coast Repertory did it in 1997) and as a current movie, “Triumph” endorses the importance of the heart, as opposed to the head.

But the musical has fun finding its way to that conventional conclusion. The whimsy of James Magruder’s libretto and Susan Birkenhead’s lyrics is in the spirit of such ‘60s musicals as “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “The Apple Tree.” The music--mostly by Jeffrey Stock, but with one song apiece by Van Dyke Parks and Michael Kosarin--is a blithe blending of operetta and old-fashioned musical comedy.

The show breaks no ground. But in the hands of director Jules Aaron, it’s a tonic, with an appeal that grows steadily. The best laughs occur near the end--indeed, at the end, in a parting line by the disappointed woman deceived about her lover’s gender.

That woman is wonderfully well played by the veteran Ralston, who moves from pinched rationalist to girlish inamorata and part of the way back again. She brings substantial vocal chops to her big solo, “Serenity.” Zemenick, as her male counterpart, doesn’t have as much of a voice but is equally effective as a know-it-all who discovers how little he knows.

Kirsche has an amusing na- ivete and a supple voice. And a trio of second-banana comics--Lisa Richard, Wayne Scherzer and Michael Kostroff--enliven the story’s sidelines and sing a funny tribute to henchmen of all stripes.

Bradley Kaye’s set, although not as stunning as the one for the nonmusical “Triumph” at South Coast, suggests the friskiness of spring, and Shon LeBlanc’s costumes create a few laughs of their own. Dan Redfeld’s seven-piece band keeps the show percolating.

“Triumph of Love,” Center Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends May 26. $27-$35. (562) 436-4610. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Misty Cotton...Princess Leonide

Damon Kirsche...Agis

Teri Ralston...Hesione

Michael Zemenick...Hermocrates

Michael Kostroff...Dimas

Lisa Richard...Corine

Wayne Scherzer...Harlequin

Book by James Magruder, based on Marivaux’s play. Music by Jeffrey Stock, with one song each by Van Dyke Parks and Michael Kosarin. Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. Directed by Jules Aaron. Musical director Dan Redfeld. Choreography by Kay Cole. Set by Bradley Kaye. Lighting by Steven Young. Costumes by Shon LeBlanc. Hair and wigs by Diane Martinez. Sound by Paul Fabre. Production manager Michael Laun.