LOVERS AND FIGHTERS IN 'PRIVATE LIVES'.Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic WHO KNEW Noel Coward Noun 1. Noel Coward - English dramatist and actor and composer noted for his witty and sophisticated comedies (1899-1973) Sir Noel Pierce Coward, Coward could generate enough heat to practically require a parental warning label: Parents strongly advised, the urbane and sophisticated duo of ``Private Lives'' fight hard and love just as passionately. Elyot Chase and Amanda Prynne: as textbook a case of the ``can't live with or without him/her'' cliche as dramatic literature can cough up. Coward himself and Gertrude Lawrence Noun 1. Gertrude Lawrence - English actress (1898-1952) Lawrence originally played the jilting, battling duo. A recent Broadway revival had former ``Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' schemers Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Tony Award-winning Scottish actress. She is a noted stage actress, winning the Tony Award for Private Lives. Duncan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland to a father who served in the army for 21 years. . The Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic theatre located in Pasadena, California. History The Playhouse's history began in 1917 when actor/director Gilmor Brown began producing a season of plays at an old burlesque house, which he renamed the Savoy. production has Andrew Borba and Blake Lindsley caroming off each other like a pair of randy pinballs. Holed up in Amanda's Paris flat after both have ditched their current spouses in Deauville, the two drink, canoodle ca·noo·dle v. ca·noo·dled, ca·noo·dling, ca·noo·dles Informal v.intr. To engage in caressing, petting, or lovemaking. v.tr. , sing, infuriate each other, overturn furniture and restart the cycle. She'll take a spontaneous running leap off a divan; he'll catch her in his arms. And there's a pas de deux pas de deux (French; “step for two”) Dance for two performers. A characteristic part of classical ballet, it includes an adagio, or slow dance, by the ballerina and her partner; solo variations by the male dancer and then the ballerina; and a coda, or involving the lighting of cigarettes that's a kind of quiet poetry. These once-married characters haven't seen each other for five years, remember, but the current between them is something to be reckoned with. Director Art Manke envisions Elyot and Amanda as younger, spicier 30- somethings rather than bitter cynical lovers in their late 40s or 50s. And indeed, his production has considerable kick, particularly during the aforementioned second act when Elyot and Amanda have the dust-ups we've been anticipating since their reunion. The first act isn't shabby either. In Deauville, on a terrace backed by an enormous Ferris wheel that lights and spins like a roulette wheel (constructed with much sleekness by Tom Buderwitz), Elyot emerges with his younger bride, Sibyl sibyl (sĭb`ĭl), in classical mythology and religion, prophetess. There were said to be as many as 10 sibyls, variously located and represented. The most famous was the Cumaean sibyl, described by Vergil in the Aeneid. (Monette Magrath) who, in addition to being deliriously happy, can't stop reminding Elyot how much better a match she is than Amanda ever was. Amanda and Victor (Brian McGovern) play out a similar duet on a neighboring terrace. Eventually Elyot and Amanda discover each other. Fights ensue, then flight. The play has no shortage of Coward-ly wit. Manke's production is suffused suf·fuse tr.v. suf·fused, suf·fus·ing, suf·fus·es To spread through or over, as with liquid, color, or light: "The sky above the roof is suffused with deep colors" with heat and a kind of jolly inevitability. As Elyot and Amanda exchange passionate kisses while their spouses threaten to tear each other to bits, we come to the realization that a new generation of marital bickerers has been birthed. And how deliciously sexy - Coward seems to be saying - is that? Evan Henerson, (818) 713-3651 evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com PRIVATE LIVES - Three stars Where: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 5 and 9 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through June 5. Tickets: $37 to $53. Call (626) 356-7529. In a nutshell: All's fair in love and war - which, in this heated staging by Art Manke, amount to much the same thing. |
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