"Private Lives"

June 15, 2022 — Let me set this up for you. Elyot has married Victor's ex-wife, Sibyl. Coincidentally, Amanda, Elyot's ex-wife, has married Sibyl's ex-husband, Victor. By an even greater coincidence, the two couples, unknowingly, have booked adjacent honeymoon suites in a luxury hotel in France. Got that? Only Noël Coward could have dreamed up such a scenario. "Private Lives" has been hailed by some critics as his finest work. I first saw it at the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire fourteen years ago. When I discovered it was being staged at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, New Hampshire this year, I decided enough time had gone by so I could enjoy again, and made a reservation.

It seems as though Nicholas Wilder is everywhere. I've been seeing him at least once per season for several years. A versatile actor, especially in comedy, he's equally comfortable in Monty Pythonesque silliness or a comedy of manners like "Private Lives" where he appears as Elyot.

Amanda, Elyot's ex-wife, is portrayed by Molly Kane Parker. Haley Jones plays the part of Sybil, now married to Elyot. Both these women are strong-willed and self-assured, and it's 1930, a time when women were expected to be subservient and submissive. Michael Luongo plays Amanda's current husband. All the actors were excellent in a demanding play. All Americans, their British accents were well-practiced and convincing. Gwen Elise Higgins appeared briefly as a French maid. More about her further on.

It's obvious from the start there are already tensions in the two new marriages. Elyot is annoyed by Sybil's questions about his previous marriage. Victor is angered by what he perceives as  Elyot's cruelty toward Amanda during her marriage to him. Their conversations tend to fluctuate back and forth between affection and acrimony. The two couples eventually discover each other in the adjacent suites, both using the same open terrace.

By the end of the first act, Elyot and Amanda have discovered they still love one another. Beautiful set design and construction is a highlight of all Winnipesaukee productions, and in the second act, after a conversion from the terrace of the hotel to Amanda's luxurious apartment, Elyot and Amanda are together again. But soon the same tensions that led to their divorce rise again, and the second act ends with Amanda smashing a phonograph record over Elyot's head, Elyot throwing Amanda on the sofa, Amanda dragging Elyot across the floor, numerous objects being thrown, and the act ends just as Victor and Sybil walk in.

The third act begins the next morning. I mentioned Gwen Elise Higgins in a previous paragraph. She proved to be a great audience-pleaser in her brief appearance as a French maid, disgusted with the mess in the apartment left by Elyot and Amanda's free-for-all she had to clean up. Her limited English and the two couples' limited French trying to converse led to the most laughs from the audience up to that point.

All I'll say about the ending is that it's not what you might have expected. I was right in my belief I could enjoy it all over again after fourteen years. Clayton Phillips directed this production. Michelle Elyse Levinson was the stage manager. Hannah Joy Hopkins designed the set and an excellent job it was. Lighting was by Heather M. Crocker. Adrianne Williams did the costume design. Winnipesaukee Players producing artistic diector Neil Pankhurst handled sound design.