Home  Entertainment Reviews “Private Lives” by Noël Coward
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“Private Lives” by Noël Coward |
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Written by Barry Gaines
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last updated Wednesday, February 28, 2007, at 13:29:10 ... created Saturday, 01 April 2006
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The Fusion Theatre Company begins its fifth season with an enjoyable production of Noël Coward’s “Private Lives” at the Cell. Premiered in 1930, the drama focuses on the indolent British upper class that was already becoming a myth. The play is sophisticated drawing room comedy of (bad) manners among the rich and idle. Like the brandy that is consumed by the characters, “Private Lives” has aged well.
The plot is both intricate and improbable. Amanda and Elyot, who shared a rocky marriage and amiable divorce, are both honeymooning with new spouses on the French Riviera. Their rooms are next to each other, and their terraces connect. Elyot’s new, younger wife Sibyl pesters him for information about his first wife while Amanda’s second partner is curious about her time with Elyot. When Elyot and Amanda see each other again, the old attraction reemerges, and they impulsively run off to Paris- leaving their mates behind. Try as they might, however, the couple is unable to avoid the bickering that leads to arguments, vicious name-calling, and even physical battles. Amanda and Elyot demonstrate the love/hate dichotomy at the center of Coward’s comedies. The abandoned spouses show up and demand a civilized resolution. Director Laurie Thomas has coached her cast in machine-gun delivery of Coward’s witty exchanges--all in posh British accents. She has also opened the play up in unexpected ways. Instead of an unbecoming brawl, the fight between Amanda and Elyot that ends act two becomes a stylized Apache dance choreographed by Desiree Lang to a Madonna song. The cast is appealing. David Lang plays the priggish Victor with bluster and a strong sense of righteous indignation. Lang’s impromptu tap dance is unexpected fun. Anna Felix demonstrates a welcome flair for comedy as Sibyl, the young newlywed in love with being in love. I warmed to Michael Finnegan’s Elyot. His volatile temper simmers, and he wears his flippancy as a badge of intelligence. When Amanda accuses him of speaking nonsense, he replies, “So does everyone else in the long run. Let's be superficial and pity the poor philosophers. Let's blow trumpets and squeakers and enjoy the party as much as we can.” Finnegan, accompanying himself on guitar, also provides a spirited mini-recital as he serenades Amanda. Finally, Jacqueline Reid is fine as Amanda. Through broad gestures and expressions she flits among moods and attitudes. She is the intellectual and verbal match for Elyot, and refreshingly modern. “Private Lives” provides more humor than a season of sitcoms. If You Go WHAT: “Private Lives” by Noël Coward WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through April 23 WHERE: The Cell, 700 First Street NW HOW MUCH: General public $22; seniors, students $17. Reservations 766-9412
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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