PL Review - Broadway.com

It's hardly shocking that Noël Coward's 72-year-old Private Lives holds up as a witty comedy. After all, it's frequently revived as a star vehicle for everyone from Maggie Smith to Joan Collins. But it's still a pleasant surprise that the latest Broadway production, imported from London with its entire cast intact, is fresh, sparkling, and delightfully, wickedly funny.

This is due not only to Coward's brilliant dialogue ("Some women should be struck regularly-like gongs") but also to Howard Davies' lively direction and the star turns by Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan (who previously costarred on Broadway in Les Liaisons Dangereuses). As the battling Elyot and Amanda, they're a priceless pair.

For those who haven't seen Private Lives or who've forgotten the plot, Elyot and Amanda were once married and then bitterly divorced. We first meet Elyot and his new bride, Sibyl (Emma Fielding), who are enjoying the first night of their honeymoon on the terrace of their hotel room in the south of France. While at first they appear blissfully happy, the mood doesn't last, thanks largely to Elyot's temper. "I should like to cut off your head with a meat ax," he says before long.

If Elyot is a lovable rogue, Sibyl is a goody two shoes. And it so happens that Amanda is staying right next door on her honeymoon with her new husband, Victor (Adam Godley), who is also prim, proper, and, well, pretty boring. Like Elyot, Amanda is armed with a rapier tongue. In other words, they're made for each other. And their mousy new spouses aren't cut out for the abuse Elyot and Amanda are inclined to dish out.

I won't give away the rest of the story, but it's not difficult to predict. What makes the play so amusing is Coward's bitchy repartee. Rickman earns one of the evening's biggest laughs when he calls Amanda a "slattern" and a "fishwife." But Amanda holds her own: Her bite is just as bad as her bark. Some of the dialogue will no doubt ring a bell, as when Amanda remarks, "Extraordinary how potent cheap music is."

With lines like that, it's no wonder Private Lives remains a classic. But it's not usually presented with such panache. Director Howard Davies keeps the pace sprightly, although it does slow down in the second act. With help from fight coordinator Terry King, he stages more physical roughhousing than is necessary. But most of the time Davies wisely keeps the focus on the sharp dialogue.

And fortunately, he has Rickman and Duncan to put it over with style. Rickman, who's also done memorable work in low-budget movies like An Awfully Big Adventure and Truly Madly Deeply, makes Elyot absolutely incorrigible, as he should be. Nasty and selfish, Elyot is also so entertaining-especially as played by Rickman-that you forgive him almost anything.

As Amanda, Duncan is even more chicly elegant. Stunning in a black robe and black evening gown, she even looks smashing wearing satin pajamas. (Jenny Beavan designed the gorgeous 1930s costumes.) Hilarious when delivering zingers, Duncan also manages to be touching when she says that after the divorce her heart was "jagged with sophistication." And when she flashes her devious smile, Duncan steals laughs without uttering a word. The only thing Duncan and Rickman can't do well is sing, which makes the brief musical interludes less successful than they might be.

In their supporting roles, Fielding and Godley are convincingly square. They're certainly no match for Rickman and Duncan, which is a problem in a few scenes but generally works to the play's advantage. In a smaller role as a French maid, Alex Belcourt makes a hilarious entrance and has fun displaying Parisian pique.

But besides Rickman and Duncan-who should be assured of Tony nominations-the most striking thing about the revival is Tim Hatley's set design. His seaside hotel is tall and grand, and the Paris apartment he's created is even more glamorous, complete with an illuminated Eiffel Tower in the background. Peter Mumford's lighting is also first-rate.

All in all, this Private Lives is one of the best productions of the season and should not be missed.

Private Lives Review

By William Stevenson

Broadway.com 28th April 2002