12.4.08
The Biblical origins of Bob Dylan's IT'S ALRIGHT MA (I'm Only Bleeding)
King Solomon inspired one of Dylan's most enduring songs
12.2.08
Napping more effective than a cuppa joe
Reports says replace afternoon coffee with a lie-down
11.29.08
[BOOK REVIEW] LUSH LIFE by Richard Price
Review by Seth Rogovoy, critic-at-large, Berkshire Living
11.26.08
MASS MoCA DIRECTOR to BRING SOL LEWITT SOUTH
Rest of the Story event at the Triplex on Dec. 14
11.25.08
[FILM REVIEW] QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Review by Seth Rogovoy, BERKSHIRE LIVING Magazine
11.23.08
[FILM REVIEW} A SECRET by Claude Miller
Review by Seth Rogovoy, critic-at-large, Berkshire Living
11.23.08
Why so many Holocaust films, and what do they say about us?
Film critic A.O. Scott asks penetrating questions about our obsession with Nazis and their Jewish victims
11.23.08
Lenox Gallery to feature small works by top regional artists
[PRESS RELEASE] Shade Gallery at the Bookstore opens new show on December 4
11.23.08
First English pubs, now French cafes are fading
Along with smoking and drinking, so goes the French way of life
7.7.08
CHATHAM SYNAGOGUE TO CELEBRATE LEGACY OF MARC CHAGALL
[PRESS RELEASE] Discussion of his life and work
11.17.08
[FILM REVIEW] RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Review by Seth Rogovoy, BERKSHIRE LIVING Magazine
11.7.08
Police, school administration apologize for terrorizing MMRHS students
Overreaction to bomb threats prompts indiscriminate police interrogation of innocent students
11.6.08
Another look at Dylan's IS YOUR LOVE IN VAIN?
Dylan's post-divorce song offers great insight into the transitional period
11.4.08
Dave Mason to perform at the Mahaiwe Dec. 5
[PRESS RELEASE] Legendary rocker, former member of Traffic, brings guitar and band to Great Barrington
11.4.08
Ani DiFranco to play Bardavon
[PRESS RELEASE] Indie folksinger performs in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on November 19, 2008
11.4.08
Ani DiFranco to play Bardavon
[PRESS RELEASE] Indie folksinger performs in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on November 19, 2008
|
[THEATER REVIEW] Private Lives at Barrington Stage Company
8.14.08
Barrington Stage Company
Pittsfield, Mass.
Private Lives by Noel Coward
Directed by Julianne Boyd.
Sibyl Chase - Rebecca Brooksher
Elyot Chase - Christopher Innvar
Victor Prynne - Mark H. Dold
Amanda Prynne - Gretchen Egolf
Louise - Tandy Cronyn
By CHRIS NEWBOUND
Calling Private Lives one of Noel Coward's most enduring comedies is like calling A Christmas Carol one of Charles Dickens' perennially popular short stories. It's the play that keeps on giving -- especially to summer theaters looking to fill out a season with a sure bet. At this point, the play (i.e. whether or not Amanda Prynne and Elyot Chase stay together or destroy each other first) is no longer the thing: more interesting is whether fresh faces can possibly breathe new life into a couple that's been around for 78 years. Barrington Stage's on-target production does manage a little mouth-to-mouth, but the patient isn't out of danger just yet.
Everything is as it should be here: grand, expensive-looking sets by Karl Eigsti that include both the dueling seaside resort balconies and Amanda's spacious, chic Parisian flat; sleek, fabulous and flattering period costumes by Elizabeth Flauto; lighting courtesy of Scott Pinkney that casts no shadow whatsoever on the proceedings; and capable players to inhabit Amanda and Elyot with enough chemistry to make audiences care.
In fact, Private Lives is receiving such a handsome, by-the-book, and (at just over two hours) briskly paced production from Barrington a.d. Julianne Boyd that the play itself is exposed for what it is: a somewhat dated, highly stylized, mostly predictable romantic comedy with as perfect a first act as one is ever likely to see, a sagging, overlong second act and a comic conclusion that wraps things up neatly.
For those who by some chance have missed seeing Private Lives, written by Coward in a mere four days as legend has it, it's as tidy a sitcom as one could find: a divorced couple, Amanda and Elyot, after being apart for five years, meet again on their separate honeymoons. Still in love, they run away together to Paris to flirt and fight repeatedly before being tracked down by their new spouses.
Gretchen Egolf is particularly winning as Amanda, giving her a lanky, elegant, though delightfully loopy comic sophistication. And Christopher Innvar playing Elyot, looking and sounding very much like a young Elliot Gould, is certainly her match -- though the couple are less convincing as fighters than lovers.
Rebecca Brooksher is perfectly fine in the mostly thankless role of Elyot's new wife, Sibyl. And Mark H. Dold squeezes as much restrained comedy as possible out of Amanda's replacement husband, Victor. Likewise Tandy Cronyn as Louise, the cranky French maid who doesn't utter a word of English, but still manages to get her irritation across.
It's just that one is left with a feeling of "deja vu all over again" (as Yogi Berra used to say). What's missing is any sense of risk, which is essential to good theater, no matter how light the fare.
At the risk of Coward turning over in his grave, one wonders if it isn't time to do something radically different with Private Lives: a modern-day version set in the Hamptons and the Upper East Side with a hard-drinking, violent Elyot? A same-sex rendering set in Napa and San Francisco? OK, maybe not.
Perhaps, more sensibly, it's simply time to retire this old standard for a while and pull out something a little less familiar. Like a fine old wine, this one maybe needs to age a little more and wait for some newer generation to come along and rediscover it.
Chris Newbound is managing editor of Berkshire Living magazine. This review originally appeared in Variety.
Sets, Karl Eigsti; costumes, Elizabeth Flauto; lighting, Scott Pinkney; sound, Matt O'Hare; production stage manager, Renee Lutz. Opened Aug. 10, 2008. Reviewed Aug. 12. Runs through Aug. 24. Running time: 2 HOURS, 5 MIN.
|
