Dana Harrison

We are in 1930 or so, at a coastal resort hotel in France. Sybil Chase (Annie Considine) and her husband Elyot (David Joseph) have arrived to celebrate their honeymoon. Set designer Patrick Brennan provides welcome white hues on the terrace. Separating one suite from the other (situated stage left) is a low fence/barrier of sorts. Amanda Prynne (Dana Harrison) and new husband Victor (Adam Huff) soon arrive ... Well, Amanda and Elyot, it seems, had been married for three years but, for the past five (divorced) went separate ways and enjoyed dalliances with others. It does not take all that long for Elyot and Amanda (hearing familiar voices) to realize they were, after all, made for one another. Intermission.

The scene shifts to Paris in Amanda's flat. Brennan supplies plush red curtains and costumer Govane Lohbauer has chosen lovely, colorful "robes" for the reunited couple. Elyot and Amanda can withhold neither their passion nor their anger toward one another. Each is able to declare "Sollocks," a made-up word utilized for cease-fire. It is not especially effective since their combat moves are quite declarative; physical dexterity, some outrageous, carries the day—or evening.

Amanda finally has enough of it all and decides to leave the premises but finds Sybil and Victor on the scene. The new partners (uncooperative) will not allow the others divorce for a year. Amanda and Elyot were hoping, it seems, for a time for tryouts.

Music helps color the initial mood of the performance as one hears "Pennies from Heaven," "Night and Day" and, later, the lyric line "just the way you look tonight," and more. Coward's dialogue is pointedly blunt. Amanda to Victor: "You're a pompous ass." Amanda is the character who is most contradictory and simultaneously compelling to watch. Dana Harrison, now in her eighth season with Shakespeare & Company, brings it on with a fiery acuity. Name stars who have previously taken on the role of Amanda include Tallulah Bankhead, Elizabeth Taylor, Maggie Smith and Kim Cattrall. Harrison fully inhabits Amanda and plays the character with gusto and great temper. Completely believable, she is unafraid to be aggressive and vigorous when it comes to Elyot. During some moments, it appears that neither will survive the performance without incurring significant bodily harm.

A period piece which brings us to the coast of France, the script, as it plays out, feels contemporary. Elyot and Amanda clearly cannot resist one another. As the second portion of the play begins, they are just so civil. If this were not a play, one might easily make the assumption that they've conquered demons and, given maturity, might look forward to a long and excellent run together. Coward, however, writes with barbed-wire wit. The tension which underscores and potentially obliterates the lovely time Amanda and Elyot fleetingly enjoy is delivered through the playwright's more serious theme. He creates individuals whose visual posing does not speak truth.

Private Lives is, to an extent, highly comedic and amusing fare perfect for a chilly evening in mid or late winter, complete with elegance, charm, and high society manners. On another level, it recommends, more cogently, insight pivotal to the lives of couples. Simotes, directing, honors the time, place, and most importantly, purposes of the British dramatist, Noëël Coward.

Private Lives continues at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts through March 30th. For tickets, call (413) 637-3353 or visit Shakespeare.org.

Photo: Kevin Sprague

- Fred Sokol