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Step back in time with sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Little Theatre鈥檚 production of 鈥淪he Stoops to Conquer,鈥� a 1773 comedy of manners by English playwright Oliver Goldsmith.

鈥淲e have a wonderful production team that has re-created, in the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Little Theatre space, the look of an 18th century playhouse that we would have encountered in 1773 in (London鈥檚 entertainment hub) Covent Garden,鈥� 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 鈥渁 brilliant triumvirate of talent.鈥�

鈥淎s soon as people walk into the theater, the first thing that they鈥檒l see, because the green curtain will be down, are the trappings of a theatrical world that hasn鈥檛 really existed since the late 18th century.鈥�

Whitted was meticulous about re-creating the pre-Victorian aesthetics of the play鈥檚 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.

鈥淚鈥檝e added a lot of stage business that isn鈥檛 in the script, but I鈥檝e done so in the attempt to accentuate the play鈥檚 eccentricities, and to add to the fun for the actors and the audience, so they鈥檙e invited into the world of the play,鈥� Whitted said.

Even the physical comedy is historically grounded. Whitted borrowed slapstick routines from commedia dell鈥檃rte, which was popular in Goldsmith鈥檚 time.

鈥淭here鈥檚 even a food fight,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, the play has something for all ages.鈥�

鈥淪he Stoops to Conquer鈥� is a story of family intrigue, competing alliances and mistaken identities. As a classic comedy of manners, it also satirizes class dynamics.

鈥淲e have two sons of people of means, who鈥檝e come to the countryside from London. They have cultural capital, money, freedom and luxury. And they鈥檙e 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,鈥� Whitted said.

Kate Hardcastle, the 鈥渟he鈥� of the title, is 鈥渁 master of code-switching,鈥� according to Whitted.

鈥淪he鈥檚 able to play the dance of the upper class and also appease her father, who is more bourgeois,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd 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.鈥�

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 鈥渟toops鈥� to conquer.

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

鈥淗e revolts against the social machine that eventually became the Victorian social order that Oscar Wilde infamously lampooned from the inside out,鈥� Whitted said. 鈥淚n a way, the character Tony 鈥� is an emblem for what the American Revolution stood for.鈥�

Goldsmith wrote 鈥淪he Stoops to Conquer鈥� 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.

鈥淭he 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,鈥� Whitted said. 鈥淚f he had made that trip, we wouldn鈥檛 be watching this play today.鈥�

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

鈥淭his 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,鈥� Whitted said.

鈥淏ut the way the actors portray those (desires) will carry across. And whatever doesn鈥檛 will be compensated for with the physical humor and the delightful spectacle that we鈥檙e going to present to them.鈥�