Playwright
Noël Coward
must be smiling down from theater heaven right now at the Walnut Street
Theatre's
perfect production of his seldom seen play, "Fallen Angels" running through May 2nd.
The
six person cast is terrific, the timing superb and the direction a dream.
Needless to say, the laughs flow like the bottle of champagne our two heroines
consume during an hilarious dinner scene where they both become progressively
plastered.
The
nifty little plot concerns best friends, Julia and Jane who are both happily
married to their respective spouses, Fred and Willy. However, five years of
married bliss have passed and neither Jane nor Julia are still "in
love" with their husbands -- "the thrill has gone". Into this
stagnant marital stew postcards arrive to both women from their same old flame,
Maurice Duclos. Yes, both friends had great passionate love affairs with the
same man, though at different times and in different cities. How both of these
women let gorgeous Maurice slip through their fingers is never fully delved
into. One must assume that he was never stable marriage material. For Maurice
apparently is a continental dreamboat and when he proposes to visit them in
London, both Julia and Jane are ready to dump their fuddy-duddy hubbies and run
away with him. The brilliance of Coward's play is that all of his characters do
what they do for love. They will humiliate themselves, create havoc, lie,
dissemble and even wish death upon certain persons all in the pursuit of their
ardor. We laugh at their foibles, because in essence we know that it rings true
in real life.
Susan
Riley Stevens is
just artfully hysterical (hysterical as in funny) as the classy Julia - smart
wife and prepossessed mistress of her household whose tiara gets kicked off her
regal head by the possibility of seeing her ex-flame. Her actorial choices are
just divine. Mary Peakes is adorable as the vivacious Jane, who humiliates herself all in the
name of love. Greg Wood makes us laugh as the slightly silly, irritated, unsuspecting husband
who seems to enjoy his marital status quo and Bill Van Horn is great as Jane's gruff,
bulldog like husband who takes his wife for granted. Jennie Eisenhower though a bit overblown, garners
a lot of laughs in her small role as Saunders, the maid who has been everywhere
and done everything.
For
the first two acts, Coward has his characters talk about Maurice without every
bringing him onstage. There is such a buildup about this character's arrival
that our expectations are quite high. However, we are not disappointed. For not
only is Dan Olmstead exceedingly tall (towering over Fred and Willy), but he's dark and
handsome as well. Sporting a jaunty French accent with just the right amount of
savoir faire
he makes us swoon just like Julia and Jane when he kisses their hands upon
arrival. (Actually the friends' reaction is more like two titillated teens
meeting a "Twilight" star.) But Maurice is more than just eye candy -
he's also smart and he bails the girls out of the sinking boat they have set
off in so there is a happy ending.
The
set by Paul Wonsek
is so glamorous that one wants to move in permanently. The antique furniture is
exquisite. Though I didn't find all the dresses to be flattering to the
actresses, the costume design by Ellis Tillman is period from the tops of the
hats to the tips of the toes and the overall effect is wonderful. The golfing
outfits for the men were just superb.
Oh,
did I mention it was a comedy? Hmm. . . yes, a sophisticated comedy of Noel
Coward's that's seldom seen . . .great cast. . . lots of laughs . . . do you
think you should go? Don't think twice! Go and enjoy!