A witty, albeit neurotic day, in the life of a gifted playwright.
By Caroline Thomas/Special to The Malibu Times
Spending a morning with Noel Coward proves to be engaging and humorous with “Private Life,” the third installment in the Malibu Stage Co.’s 2002 season. The one-act play is set at the scribe’s suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on a morning when Coward is coping with scathing reviews of his autobiographical book, “Private Lives.”
“Private Life” was well- received at the off-Broadway Grove Street Playhouse where it first debuted. Playwright and star Craig Archibald, 38, based the fictional story on the “wit and wisdom of Sir Noel Coward”-as quoted in the playbill. He said he decided to write about Coward in 1988 after hearing a recording of the playwright singing “Marvelous Party.” As he researched Coward’s life, Archibald said he personally related to the playwright’s struggles, many of which are based on fact. Archibald wrote the dialogue for “Private Life” in the frantic pace of a screwball comedy. The frenetic racing lends itself well as Coward’s wit and neuroses unfold over 90 minutes.
Early on, Coward proclaims, “It’s difficult to be a good sport about life.” But sporting he is during a long series of incoming and outgoing phone conversations with friends and cohorts. Despite an oppressive hangover, he discusses his first review, which begins, “Mr. Coward is clever and he knows it,” and decides to straighten up and call his financiers. Complaining that his critics have compared his book with his previous plays, he poses, “Would you confuse ice hockey with croquet?”
A surprise comes with the awakening of a mate who has spent the night. Darren (played by David Garver), a young sailor on shore leave, tells his paramour, “You look pretty good. Do you work out?” To which Coward retorts, “No … I smoke.”
But the repartee between the two reveals a sad side to the unsatisfied Coward, who usually reveals only his witticisms to the world. Coward finds fulfillment through his conversations with the movers and shakers of the 1937 New York scene. He appears restored after a call to Marlene Dietrich, where he proposes, “Let’s have lunch and not call the press.”
The psyche and stories of his life unfold in the revealing banter of a clever man who only sometimes “knows it.” Craig Archibald brings charm and panache to this portrayal of Coward’s mercurial private life.
“Private Life” is scheduled to continue performances through Aug. 25. Show times are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. Seats are $20. Tickets are available at the Malibu Stage Co. box office at 29243 Pacific Coast Hwy. or by calling 310.589.1998.