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. . . a story about the ambiguous relationship between love and money . . .
Counterfeit Secrets

Written by: Pierre de Carlet Marivaux
Translated and directed by: John Van Burek
Starring: Arsinée Khanjian, Xuan Fraser, Dawn Greenhalgh, Thomas Hauff, Peter Haworth, Julie LeGal, Andrew Piko and William Webster
Produced by: The Pleiades Theatre
Set and Costume Designed by: Andjelija Djuric
Lighing by: Paul Mathiesen
Music by: Justin Haynes

Previews: May 3 thru May 5 
Runs: May 7 to 26, 2002
Show Times / Prices:
Previews Fri and Sat 8 pm $12, Sun 2:30 pwyc
Tues-Thurs at 8 pm: reg $27, group/student/senior $22
Fri and Sat at 8 pm: all seats $35
Wed mat. 1 pm: reg $25, group/student/senior $19.50
Sun mat. 2:30 pwyc
Children under 12 - all tickets 1/2 price
Groups are being sold through GROUP SALES INTERNATIONAL: 416.597.0965

Advance reservations through the St. Lawrence Centre Box Office, 416-366-7723
Tickets available for sale and pickup at Artword Theatre one hour before a show ONLY.

Starring Arsinée Khanjian (pron. Can-gin), Counterfeit Secrets by Marivaux (pron. Mary-voh) is a sparkling, classical French comedy about true love and false pretenses. It's about the ambiguous relationship between love and money. play about the ambiguous relationship between love and money where, fuelled by an inequality of means, the true motivations of seemingly honest people become questionable.
Marivaux is the Mozart of playwrights. With passion, variety, verve and elegance, he explores the ways in which love can play surprising tricks on us, especially when we think we are smarter than our hearts. By the same token, he reminds us of how love, and our fear of getting hurt by it, can sometimes make us behave with alarming cruelty.
Written in 1737, Counterfeit Secrets takes an amusing look at the treacherous relationship between love and money. Considered by man to be Marivaux' greatest play, this one tells the story of Dorante, an attractive, very capable but penniless young lawyer who is in love with Araminte, an extremely wealthy and beautiful young widow. Dubois, who used to work for Dorante but now for Araminte, manoeuvres to position his former master Araminte's household as her intendant; the plan is to have her fall in love and marry him. Iago-like, Dubois plunges everyone into conflict to attain this end. The vast gulf in economic status that lies between the two protagonists keeps begging the question of Dorante's real motives and we soon realize that with every character, a good deal of money is at stake. Much of the comedy stems from the painful and valiant efforts to keep material and emotional interests separate. Needless to say, there is nothing dated about such a story and this is very much a play for our time.
One of Canada's true international stars, Arsinée Khanjian, is playing Araminte, along with Stratford veterans Xuan Fraser (Dubois), Dawn Greenhalgh, Thomas Hauff, Peter Haworth, Julie LeGal, Andrew Pifko (Dorante) and one of the leading members of Support Theatre, William Webster.