Theater

Pitfalls of Marriage

By: Scotia W. MacRae, TIMEOFF

02/22/2007

Shakespeare '70 delves into 'Private Lives.'

   You never know about other people's marriages. There's the perfect couple that suddenly splits up — usually one of them decides to follow his/her bliss with someone else, who may or may not be age-appropriate. There's the warring couple that seems constantly on the brink of breakup, but, perhaps united in the excitement of constant jousting, never quite do it. In the lonely-hearts department, life is a dance of divorce, of death, of rejection, of re-coupling, and sometimes even happily ever after.
   Noel Coward's Private Lives gives us a look behind the curtain of propriety. Produced by Shakespeare '70 at the College of New Jersey through Feb. 25, the play, written in 1929, is a staple of classic repertoire and well worth becoming reacquainted with.

   The very situation is intriguing. Imagine you are Elyot, a middle-aged man who has managed to recover from your bitter divorce and fall in love again with a woman rather younger than yourself. Having just married her, you arrive in a romantic cloud at a lovely and expensive hotel in southern France. You are on the terrace overlooking the ocean, waiting for your love, Sybil, to join you for a celebratory sip of Champagne, and suddenly you find yourself face-to-face with your previous spouse, Amanda.
   "What are you doing here?" you say.
   "I'm on my honeymoon" she replies.
   "Hope you're enjoying it," you say.
   "It hasn't started yet," she replies.
   "Neither has mine," you say.
   Well, the honeymoon is over, but the play has just begun. Elyot and Amanda each try to persuade their respective spouses, Victor and Sybil, to leave immediately. Completely mystified, Victor and Sybil, dressed for dinner, refuse, setting the scene for mayhem amid witty repartee.
   Dale Simon is witheringly witty in his portrayal of the world-weary Elyot; Janet Quartarone is piquant as the flippantly sophisticated Amanda; the lovely Elizabeth Hults as Sybil is appealing as her desire to please and her sweet shock turn to fury; Tom Orr is properly pompous as Victor; and Gina Yanuzzi as the French maid, Louise, is appropriately insouciant.
   You can feel the comfort level of the relationship between Amanda and Elyot, so it is not surprising to discover that actors Quatarone and Simon are married, although Quatarone states in the program notes that she has never broken anything over her husband's head — while Amanda would cheerfully admit to that and more. Simon is a man of many talents: he is also the production's designer and technical director.
   While this production moves right along, there were times that I wished the pacing were a little faster — more intense, rapid volleying at the net rather than further back on the court.
   In the initial 1930 production in London, Coward himself starred as Elyot opposite Gertrude Lawrence's Amanda. The Daily Mail reported that tickets to the three-month engagement were in great demand, "though the piece is meant neither to instruct, to improve, nor to uplift." In The New York Times, drama critic Charles Morgan called the play "a remarkable tour de force," despite a story that was "almost impudently insubstantial..."
   But in fact, no critic can say what a piece is "meant" to do. On the surface, Private Lives is a merry romp through the pitfalls of marriage, but there's a lot more to it. In the post-World War II years, Coward's work fell out of favor because it was regarded as a stylish gloss on an outmoded way of life. Yet underneath the wit lies the irony and pain of relationships. Perhaps Private Lives may not improve or uplift us, but it does illuminate the nature of intimacy, which is not an insubstantial achievement.
   "I think very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives," says Amanda. "It all depends on a combination of circumstances. If all the various cosmic thingummys fuse at the same moment, and the right spark is struck, there's no knowing what one mightn't do."

Private Lives by Noel Coward and directed by John F. Erath continues at The Black Box Theater, Kendall Hall, The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, Feb. 22-24, 8 p.m. (silent auction bidding starts at 7 p.m.), Feb. 25, 2 p.m. Tickets cost $12, $10 seniors, $6 students. On the Web: www.shakespeare70.org