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Metropolis' 'Private Lives' a look at deliciously dysfunctional romance

The relationship between Amanda and Elyot, the endlessly sparring ex-spouses in Noel Coward's “Private Lives,” stands as a textbook example of marital dysfunction.

Or maybe it doesn't. What they have works, at least it does among the urbane, upper-crust Brits who populated Coward's plays, including 1930's character-driven marital farce “Private Lives,” now in a solidly entertaining revival at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights.

Verbal squabbles and physical altercations punctuate the love/hate relationship between dazzling, droll divorcees: sexy, independent Amanda and wry, sophisticated Elyot (crisply played by Allison McGrath and Goran Norquist), whose extramarital affair serves as a catalyst for this thinly plotted comedy.

Divorced five years, the exes become reacquainted during a stay at a hotel in northwest France, where they are honeymooning in adjacent suites with their new spouses: Elyot's insecure younger bride, Sybil (Erin O'Shea, whose chirpy conventionality masks a certain craftiness), and Amanda's stodgy, happily normal husband, Victor (Aram Monisoff, a forgiving sort of Puritan).

Amanda and Elyot discover each other's presence in a comical bit of stage business devised by director Dylan S. Roberts that unfolds on adjoining balconies, tastefully designed by Katie Alvord and a perfect backdrop for Cathy Tantillo's simple but becoming formalwear.

The old spark reignited, ex-spouses abandon their mates and head to Amanda's Paris flat (another chic, simple Alvord design). Awaiting the impending confrontation with their jilted spouses, the two fall into old habits that reveal just how thin the line is between passion and contempt, and how these lovers delight in crossing it.

So much so they've developed a shorthand — a breezy reference to “big romantic stuff” — to resolve incessant arguments that would exhaust a lesser couple.

Yet for all its bite, Coward's satire has some lovely, romantic moments such as Elyot's admission to Amanda that “there isn't a particle of you I don't know, remember and want.” This, from the man who suggests his ex-wife is among “certain women (who) should be struck regularly, like gongs.”

Metropolis' well-rehearsed production unfolds briskly, sometimes too briskly, under Roberts, who might consider putting on the brakes so we don't miss Coward's witty repartee.

His leads clearly relish their roles. The sweetly acerbic Norquist plays Elyot with the glib elegance of a man who knows he's the smartest person in the room. Unfortunately, the effect is diluted by an effete fussiness that occasionally creeps into his performance.

Sharp and perceptive, McGrath's spirited Amanda is a woman keenly aware of her flaws, which makes her the most estimable rascal of them all.

Early in the play, Elyot insists to Sibyl he wants a “tremendously cozy” relationship. Amanda, the wiser of the two, knows better. Cozy and undramatic will never do for a duo whose attraction is rooted in wit and conflict, something that today would constitute domestic violence.

Dysfunctional it may be, but the relationships works for them. Good thing it does, since it saves two other innocent souls from marital damnation.

Jilted Sybil (Erin O'Shea), center, and Victor (Adam Monisoff), center, are shocked by the venom their new spouses Elyot (Goran Norquist), left, and Amanda (Allison McGrath), right, spout in "Private Lives," Noel Coward's 1930 comedy of manners running through Feb. 15 at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Courtesy of Liz Lach
Divorcees Elyot (Goran Norquist) and Amanda (Allison McGrath) discover they (and their new spouses) are honeymooning in adjacent rooms in Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's revival of Noel Coward's "Private Lives." Courtesy of Liz Lach

“Private Lives”

★ ★ ★

<b>Location:</b> Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights, (847) 577-2121 or <a href="http://metropolisarts.com">metropolisarts.com</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 15. Also 1 p.m. Jan. 28 and 2 p.m. Feb. 1.

<b>Running time:</b> Two hours, 15 minutes, with two intermissions

<b>Tickets:</b> $38

<b>Parking:</b> Free adjacent garage and street parking

<b>Rating:</b> For adults, includes sexual situations

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