Pennsylvania Playhouse romps through 'Private Lives'

Pennsylvania Playhouse has a very satisfying hit on its hands with director Charles Weigold's fast paced, well acted and very smart production of Noel Coward's "Private Lives."

"Private Lives," which is one of my personal favorites, is a hard show to stage since it demands precision timing and two pairs of well matched spouses, who can manage the upper crust language and the effete mannerisms of Coward's 1930s society elites. And the wonderful Playhouse cast (Ian Waldraff, Michelle Rieder, Joseph Klucsarits and Lauren Eitzenberger) handle this all with poise, flair and a lack of embarrassment as they toss bons mots back and forth, bicker outrageously and indulge themselves in madcap physical free for alls.

The simple but topsy turvy plot follows the tumultuous lives of Amanda and Elyot, a divorced couple, who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, Victor and Sibyl, discover that that they are in the same hotel, in adjoining balcony suites. The comedy heats up as the two realize that they are still in love, and make plans to abandon their new spouses and restart their relationship.

From the moment Elyot, played with a detached aloofness by Waldraff, walks out on his balcony, and his very young bride Sibyl, played with a bouncy effervescence and inane silliness by Eitzenberger, begins questioning him about his former wife Amanda, you know there is trouble afoot.

And then as they retire into their room, Victor emerges from his adjoining suite with his half-dressed wife, the impetuous and somewhat worldlier Amanda, and he begins to question her about her former husband Elyot, you know that this is going to be fun.

Klucsarits plays Victor first as an assured and ardent lover and protective husband and then becomes someone completely bewildered and uncomfortable with the wild emotional excesses of his wife. Rieder's Amanda is a screwball ball of fire She is also a woman who revels in a laisse faire naivete and makes no excuse for her many inconsistencies and bad behaviors.

Waldraff is her perfect match and is an amusing contrast to Elyot , a debonair, blasé man about town, and that of the private Elyot, a manic, savage beast who hurls pillows, books and tables and everything else in an over the top display of jealousy. .

What makes this play such fun is its many unexpected twists, turns and unpredictable physicality. Coward was a consummate professional who knew how to keep audiences entertained. He was also a master of satire and delicious zingers. And the Playhouse cast tosses his witty remarks back and forth with verve and waltzes through the play with polish and ease.

Myra Yellin Outwater is a freelance writer.