Private Lives One of Many Knots in the Thread Between Shakeaspeare and Moonlighting Supplies Many Laughs

If you saw The Cottage at Gremlin Theatre recently and are looking for more of that style. Well, Noël Coward was the original. Private Lives, set in 1930s France, features two couples arriving at neighboring hotel rooms for their honeymoons. They share a terrace, which in some circumstances might be a lovely way to meet new friends and enjoy the outdoor pleasures of a honeymoon. However, when it turns out that one member of each newlywed couple is the ex-spouse of one of the others, it quickly becomes a worst-case scenario. Coward knows exactly how to take such a situation and pump it full of deliciously awkward humor. Here, he demonstrates how some flames of passion are never fully extinguished, while also being far too scorching to survive.

The fun of this show is watching William Connell as Elyot Chase and Laura Odeh as Amanda, the formerly married couple who fall right back into their “will they or won’t they…kill or kiss each other?” dynamic. They are an extremely toxic couple—but they are our extremely toxic couple. You can’t help but feel for their new spouses, who haven’t even enjoyed their wedding night before being abandoned. What’s truly wild is the effect these exes have on their new partners. By the end of the play, we’re left wondering if their uniquely volatile form of love is somehow contagious.

Stages of MN favorite Dustin Bronson plays Victor, Amanda’s new husband, while Nikki Massoud plays Sibyl, Elyot’s new wife. While it’s undoubtedly Connell and Odeh’s show, they have the juiciest roles, equal parts sugar and acid, Bronson and Massoud provide a perfect contrast. Connell and Odeh are terrific with the fast-paced banter that would feel right at home in a 1940s Howard Hawks film. Meanwhile, Bronson and Massoud play the more traditional, even-keeled “everybody” types, at least until their final scene, when they finally get to lose their composure. At that point, we (along with Elyot and Amanda) sit back and watch the sparks fly. A play like this isn’t about who ends up with who, it’s about the wit of the dialogue.

There’s one other cast member worth noting: Bradley Beahen, making his Guthrie debut as the piano player and Louis. Interestingly, just across from the Wurtele Thrust Stage, over in the McGuire Proscenium Stage for Come From Away, you’ll find his sister, Kate Beahen, also making her Guthrie debut. I always love seeing performers I’ve followed for a while reach this milestone, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer pair of siblings.

The show runs about two hours and 15 minutes, including two 15-minute intermissions. The longer one is necessary to transform scenic designer Alexander Dodge’s hotel terrace into Amanda’s flat in Paris. Watching that transition is genuinely impressive. The second, shorter intermission allows for some simple redressing of the set.

Private Lives runs through August 23 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.guthrietheater.org/whats-on/private-lives/

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