‘Private Lives’ a Passion Play in O.C.

Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” is one of theater’s most sure-fire entertainments, and South Coast Repertory has mounted brilliant Coward revivals more than once.

It seems a perfect match. Of course, someone probably said the same thing about the newly married couples who arrive at a coastal resort in the first act of “Private Lives”--yet their respective honeymoons collapse within minutes.

Fear not. Director David Chambers makes the most of South Coast’s affair with Coward’s work. This elegantly dressed “Private Lives” begins well and just gets funnier as the evening whizzes by.

Is it for everyone? Well, let’s see . . . groups fighting domestic abuse should not pick this particular play as a fund-raiser. Nor should anti-smoking groups. Nor anti-flippancy groups, if any exist. It wouldn’t be a particularly shrewd choice as an elementary school field trip.

Other than that, this “Private Lives” definitely has a talent to amuse.

That warning to domestic abuse groups is prompted by a play in which bitter fights between men and women get very physical. Physical in terms of ingenious slapstick, that is--they don’t turn seriously nasty.

Fortunately, in the biggest fight of them all, which brings the second act to a literally smashing conclusion, Amanda is as adept as her ex at making the right moves. Lynnda Ferguson’s Amanda does a graceful somersault over a piano. Meanwhile, it’s Alastair Duncan’s Elyot who pauses, midfight, for a brief primping before the mirror.

The passion on display here would lead anyone to question that cliche about British reserve. By play’s end, it also affects the play’s ostensibly stuffier couple. Watch Francois Giroday’s Victor turn several colors of red as he bellows at Cindy Katz’s snarling Sibyl.

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The last couple of major “Private Lives” productions in L.A. featured celebrities in their 50s in roles that are clearly identified in the script as considerably younger (one suspects that the lines specifying the age range were judiciously censored). South Coast, without having to worry about casting the famous, instead casts correctly aged actors who might, if justice prevails, become famous.

Ferguson is first in line. Swathed in Todd Roehrman’s slinky, satiny gowns, she emerges as a vision of sophistication in the first act’s balcony scene, yet she never seems remote. Although Amanda is the first to announce that she’s not “normal,” Ferguson makes enough comic sense out of Amanda’s wavering emotions for us to follow along with a giddy spirit of adventure.

Duncan is a slender and lithe Elyot whose discontent is palpable from his first entry. Sibyl’s mother, who is quoted describing Elyot’s “shifty eyes,” was correct. When this Elyot is with Sibyl, part of his mind is with Amanda. Yet when he is with Amanda, his eyes finally become more centered--and even when the two of them fight, he keeps his focus, as if he knows that this is where he belongs. On opening night, Duncan’s tongue slipped slightly over a couple of words, but it caused only a slight ripple in his smooth flow of quips.

When these two dance or otherwise begin to make love, the attraction seems real. Director Chambers uses the sofa pillows and the piano top as clever props in their lovemaking, and Roehrman meets Coward’s challenge of providing the couple with virtually show-stopping nightclothes. Elyot’s robe erupts with polka dots, while the pattern on Amanda’s pajamas is in colorful little squares: images that momentarily clash--appropriately enough--until you notice how the purple trim around her squares matches the main color behind his polka dots.

As Victor, Giroday shifts dramatically from his characterization in Coward’s “Design for Living,” last fall at A Noise Within in Glendale, to play a much less dapper, more conventional fellow with equal success. Katz, too, takes a sharp turn away from Kate in “The Taming of the Shrew,” her last South Coast role, to play a blond and fluttery Sibyl. However, this Sibyl’s wits are aroused sufficiently by play’s end to make her something of an Amanda-in-training.

Ralph Funicello provided a playful Moderne facade, all glass and chrome, for the first act hotel, and a stylish interior for the Paris flat to which Amanda and Elyot flee. Both sets confidently reflect the play’s 1930 period, as does the incidental music in Frederick W. Boot’s sound design. It adds up to a glittery package that illuminates the thin line between love and hate that Coward enjoyed so much.

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* “Private Lives,” South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Ends Feb. 8. $28-$43. (714) 708-5555. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Cindy Katz: Sibyl Chase

Alastair Duncan: Elyot Chase

Francois Giroday: Victor Prynne

Lynnda Ferguson: Amanda Prynne

Martha McFarland: Louise

Noel Coward’s comedy. Directed by David Chambers. Sets by Ralph Funicello. Costumes by Todd Roehrman. Lights by Chris Parry. Sound by Frederick W. Boot. Wigs by Carol F. Doran. Production manager Michael Mora. Stage manager Julie Haber.