All of which makes York an apt choice to portray the Marquise de Merteuil, the ice-hearted aristocrat who likes nothing better than to play chess with human pawns in “The Game,’’ the musical by Amy Powers and David Topchik (book and lyrics) and Megan Cavallari (music) that is based on Choderlos de Laclos’s 1782 novel, “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.’’
Barrington Stage Company’s production of “The Game,’’ directed by Julianne Boyd and revised since its 2003 premiere, is studded with exquisitely staged moments, especially in the second act. Unsurprisingly, most of those moments involve York, who etches another memorable portrait in her growing gallery of bewitching baddies, to go along with her Cruella De Vil in the 2009 national tour of “The 101 Dalmatians Musical’’ and her turn last year as the Witch in Reagle Music Theatre’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.’’
She is ably complemented by Graham Rowat, who brings a sinister charisma to his portrayal of the Vicomte de Valmont. From their plot-hatching first duet (“The Game’’) to their final, table-turning showdown (“Victory Is Mine’’), York and Rowat generate the kind of electric charge that results from a battle of equals.
Valmont is an amoral seducer who moves from one conquest to the next without a backward glance. With one exception: Merteuil. Valmont was once her lover, and her charms remain so potent that he is looking for a return ticket to her bed.
So Merteuil, eager for a little malevolent fun, offers a proposal: If Valmont succeeds in seducing Madame de Tourvel (Amy Decker), a married woman of unimpeachable virtue and equally unassailable piety, Valmont gets to spend a night with Merteuil. (And if Valmont can destroy Madame de Tourvel’s faith along with her virtue, well, that seems to be just an extra dividend in the eyes of this scheming duo).
