It can often be awkward to find out that you and your best friend once dated the same guy. It’s even more awkward to find out that your mutual lover is back in town and wants to meet each of you individually. What makes things even more complicated is that they are both married.
Leave it to Noel Coward to turn a problem like this into a drawing room comedy. fallen angel. More than 100 years later, the rarely seen 1925 comedy is jetting off to New York for a Broadway revival starring Kerry O’Hara (Gilded Age) and Rose Byrne (If I had legs I’d kick you).
Imagine standing on stage in London for the first time and wagging your tongue in disapproval. This infuriated Lord Chamberlain, Britain’s official theater arbiter at the time. The topic of premarital sex and “totally unnecessary frankness among the women” was enough to nearly halt production. However, after some changes, the die-hard sticklers allowed the show to continue.
Further edits appear to have been made to the Roundabout Theater Company production, not because of its scandalous content, but because of its running time. Director Scott Ellis kept Coward’s French farce to 90 minutes, compared to more than two hours in other versions. Still, the paper-thin plot feels a bit boring.
Still, it’s a lot of fun to watch two beautiful, wealthy women indulging in their sexuality, yearning for the same man, and suppressing their natural tendency to “fight like tigers” when he arrives, even as they vow eternal friendship to each other.
O’Hara, who is respected as a leading lady in the musical world, certainly has comedic talent, fallen angelher physical comedic talents had not yet been revealed. One of the waitstaff women, Julia Sterol, is released after several strong martinis and a bottomless coupe of champagne. It’s so funny to watch her climb the stairs in her apartment and try to survive the next morning’s hangover.
Byrne is no stranger to over-the-top antics, especially in films like; bridesmaids and spy. On stage, she plays Jane Bunbury, another woman anxiously awaiting the arrival of her ex-lover Maurice Duclos (Mark Consuelos), a pleasant and funny role.
O’Hara and Byrne create perfect chemistry. The pair striking a seductive pose as they try to light a cigarette reaches the highest level of humor that a vintage Carol Burnett sketch could bring.
Aasif Mandvi and Christoper Fitzgerald are ideal as the hapless husbands Fred and Willie. The stocky couple plans to go golfing, and the wives are left to their own devices. The two don’t get much stage time, but there’s no reason to protest. This is clearly a showcase of two women, actually three women. Tracy Chimo really enjoys the role of Sanders, the housekeeper who has a lot of life experience and knows a lot of people. It’s hard to believe she’s not lying. “I think I should follow her and pick up all the names she drops,” Julia jokes.
Consuelos is best known as a daytime talk show co-host. Live with Kelly and Mark He appears in the second half of the play, along with his wife Kelly Ripa, as a sexy Frenchman whom they both admired. Consuelos has a ridiculous French accent, but the exaggerated dialect may have been heightened for farcical effect.
Speaking of accents, this American cast does a good job of delivering physical comedy, but being authentically British isn’t all that easy. This is in no way a reflection on Kate Wilson’s vocal coaching, but rather the observation that while British people can generally pull off a variety of American accents with ease, it is much more difficult for American actors to convince audiences that they have British ancestry.
Part of the conversation fallen angelis missed due to poor sound design and poor microphone placement, which we hope will improve in future performances.
Set designer David Rockwell created a stunning Art Deco apartment complete with crystal chandeliers, and Jeff Marcy decked out the cast in elegant 20s fashion, drawing inspiration from Madame Gres and Coco Chanel.
Fallen Angels won’t make for an unforgettable night at the theater, but it’s entertaining enough to take you to cloud 9 and keep you captivated for a short while.
Fallen Angel (★★★☆☆) will run through June 2nd at the Todd Haymes Theater, 227 W. 42nd St., New York City. Tickets range from $72 to $269. visit roundabouttheater.org.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
