Buffalo Theatre's 'Private Lives' voyeuristic fun
When it comes to producing the British comedies of Noel Coward, sophistication and wit should rule the day. But achieving that level of affected breeziness can be difficult, especially when everything should emanate as casually as a blissfully oblivious puff of cigarette smoke.
So it's a pleasure to report that Buffalo Theatre Ensemble largely does a winning job with “Private Lives,” Coward's classic 1930 comedy of manners. Though sometimes written off as a diverting trifle, the depiction of the idle rich behaving badly in “Private Lives” still commands attention thanks to its witty wordplay and intrinsic glamour.
“Private Lives” revolves around the worldly wise Amanda Prynne (Erinn Strain) and Elyot Chase (Robert Jordan Bailey), a divorced couple who have both gotten married to other people after five years apart. But as luck would have it, Amanda and Elyot meet again on adjoining hotel balconies whilst on their honeymoons in the French Riviera.
Though initially shocked and horrified at the coincidence, Amanda and Elyot rather quickly rediscover their initial passion for each other as faults in their new spouses grate on their nerves. Amanda finds her new husband, Victor (Brad Walker), all too stiflingly traditional, while Elyot gets turned off by the shrieking whining of his young and initially giddy new bride Sibyl (Jennifer Dymit).
Though the situational comedy is fun, the true joy of Coward's “Private Lives” is watching Amanda and Elyot as they lob barbed banter back and forth before gradually descending to physical blows (whilst wearing Barbara Neiderer's lovely period costumes). Back when it debuted, the winking adulterous relationship of “Private Lives” may have been scandalous. But nowadays it's the blasé attitude toward domestic violence that might shock today's audiences.
Luckily for Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, the pairing of Bailey's Elyot and Strain's Amanda is one that clicks on multiple cylinders, ranging from their skilled delivery of Coward's delicious dialogue to the all-out drag-down fight that erupts near the end of Act II. Now Strain's Amanda might be a tad too young for the role, but she puts on the sophistication well against Bailey's amusingly droll Elyot.
As the jilted newlyweds, Walker's no-nonsense Victor is appropriately bristly while Dymit's Sibyl puts on a nice act of “wide-eyed innocence” and “wronged womanhood.” Mary Holbein also is fun as the grumbling and sniffling French maid Louise.
Director Amelia Barrett's handling of “Private Lives” is largely spot on, though there are a couple of staging missteps. Amanda probably wouldn't have knelt down on her knees to plead with Victor whilst wearing a pricey evening gown. And I would have liked more detailed scenic frills than what is on display in Galen G. Ramsey's rather basic set.
The acting company also had a slight tendency to step on each other's comic lines on opening night, but they should resolve that issue in subsequent performances.
Though not too much happens plot-wise in “Private Lives,” Coward keeps the upper-crust comedy coming as he incisively examines arguments of love while depicting the fallout of a toxic couple rekindling their frequently rocky relationship. So when we get to catch a glimpse into these wealthy “Private Lives,” it all becomes such voyeuristic fun.
<b>“Private Lives”</b>
★ ★ ★
<b>Location: </b>Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, (690) 942-4000 or <a href="http://www.atthemac.org" target="_blank">atthemac.org</a>
<b>Showtimes: </b>8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; through May 29
<b>Running time: </b>About two hours with intermission
<b>Tickets: </b>$23-$33
<b>Parking: </b>Nearby lots
<b>Rating: </b>Largely for general audiences, though some may bristle at the casual attitude toward adultery and the promiscuousness of certain characters