O.C. Theater Review : ‘Private Lives’ Worth Living Vicariously

Noel Coward always managed to tuck a provocative message into his comedies. In “Private Lives,” which is getting a handsome, smartly entertaining revival at the Alternative Repertory Theatre, he sends a telegram.

“Let’s be superficial and pity the poor philosophers,” says Elyot, one of the many alter egos that the playwright inserts into his many shows. “Come and kiss me, darling, before your body rots and worms pop in and out of your eye sockets.”

It’s not easy to toss off the fey sophistication that Coward requires, especially for a storefront company working in a tiny theater on a stage smaller than your average living room.

But ART, which launched its ninth season with the opening of “Private Lives” last weekend, has done just that--thanks to a well-cast ensemble, apt direction and tony production values.

Amanda and Elyot, divorced from each other and honeymooning on the French Riviera with brand new spouses, dare the unthinkable. They abandon their bewildered mates-off-the-altar and run away together, resuming a tempestuous battle of the sexes that drew them together and drove them apart in the first place.

When they arrive at Amanda’s hideaway in Paris, they seduce each other royally, try to keep their volatile tempers in check, crack open the booze, revel in their “miraculous escape” from unequal partners and trade quips in classic Coward fashion.

“Do you realize that we’re living in sin?” Amanda asks.

“Not according to the Catholics,” Elyot replies. “Catholics don’t believe in divorce.”

“Yes dear, but we’re not Catholics.”

“Never mind. It’s nice to think they’d sort of back us up.”

Amanda eventually gets to wondering about the social mess they’ve gotten themselves into and poses a question about the eternal verities of love and death.

“You mustn’t be serious,” Elyot says. “It’s just what they want.”

“Who’s they ?” Amanda would like to know.

“All the futile moralists who try to make life unbearable,” he retorts. “Laugh at them. Be flippant. Laugh at all their sacred shibboleths. Flippancy brings out the acid in their damned sweetness.”

It also brings out a prime streak of wickedness in Sally Leonard, whose delicious portrait of the Amanda in heat--sexual and otherwise--is full of cunning satire and unexpected intimacies.

Dennis McLernon’s Elyot is a comic match for Leonard’s Amanda--not at the same level of sensuality perhaps, but on a par with her mocking intelligence, blithe humor and witty insouciance.

Together, they make you believe in the suave, by now mythological, reality of the Jazz Age’s cafe society. For all the so-called “cheap” jazz-baby music in the air, each infuses “Private Lives” with elegant period manners and well-turned British inflections that never flag and always suggest upper-class snobs.

The same goes for Derek Stefan, who cuts a thoroughly credible figure as the jilted Victor, a comically dull snoot who wears Amanda’s honor on his sleeve (to say nothing of his offended dignity) and who would take her back at the drop of a handkerchief.

*

Kathryn Byrd brings off the role of Elyot’s jilted young bride, Sibyl, though with somewhat less confidence and a tendency to mug. But she starts and ends strongly, getting in some pretty good licks with her caricature of insufferable innocence.

Except for a French maid whose French sounds like it was cultivated in Des Moines, “Private Lives” rarely takes a false step. Director Patricia L. Terry has put together a witty, graceful show well worth the price of admission. Kudos to all.

* “Private Lives,” Alternative Repertory Theatre, 1636 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 5 p.m. Ends Nov. 11. $16. (714) 836-7929. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Kathryn Byrd: Sibyl

Dennis McLernon: Elyot

Derek Stefan: Victor

Sally Leonard: Amanda

Gwenda Deacon: Louise

An Alternative Repertory Theatre production of a play by Noel Coward. Directed by Patricia L. Terry. Producer: Gary Christensen. Scenic design: David Scaglione and Christensen. Costume design: Gina Davidson. Lighting design: Looi Goring. Sound design: Christensen. Production stage manager: Steve Ramirez. Rehearsal stage manager: Elizabeth Hoffman.