Playwright: Noel Coward. At: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand. Phone: 312-595-5600; $55-$75. Runs through: March 7
So what's a Noel Coward play doing at a Shakespeare theater? Well, Private Lives could be regarded as a sequel to The Taming of the Shrew: imagine Catherine and Petruchio, having established a mutual accord, later succumbing to misgivings under the pressures of social convention and parting waysonly to later re-affirm their affection, however eccentric, for one another. And if this marriage of true impediments includes the carefree destruction of property peculiar to the idle rich, who are we to admit minds? ( Physical conflict between lovers may have been shocking at the play's premiere in 1930, but nowadays, when lovers work out together at the gym instead of snuggle-bunny dancing in night clubs, is the notion of spouses settling arguments with, say, kick-boxing matches really such a stretch? )
You could also arguealbeit somewhat unfairlythat American audiences will accept anything so long as it involves high-society plutocrats declaiming in impeccable British accents. Certainly there's no denying the craftsmanship evident in shows directed by Gary Griffin, an artist who could get a riveting performance out of two lawn flamingos, provided they were costumed properly. Under his guidance, the transactional dynamics in this uncut version of the textthree acts, two intermissionsnever give way to slapstick exaggeration, rendering its sleek artifice always reflective of the intimacy that Coward specified for his comedy. The title is, after all, Private Lives.
But how intimate can you be in a big auditorium bereft of the vantage afforded by camera-based presentation? The voyeurist aspect afforded by the Chicago Shakespeare mainstage is enhanced, not only by the reconfiguration of the space to include seating on all four sides of the playing area, but the introduction of a turntable floor that revolves at clock-face speed so that we barely notice the furniture shifting, but that ultimately gives every spectator a fly-on-the-wall view of the actionall without ever stealing focus from a carefully-chosen cast of skilled ( not to mention sure-footed ) actors.
The madcap premise for this theaterliterally, as well as dramatically, in-the-roundis fulfilled to dazzling perfection in the hands of an ensemble anchored by Tracy Michelle Arnold and Robert Sella as the volatile Amanda and Elyot, augmented by Tim Campbell and Chaon Cross ( the latter a smarter actress than the roles to which her porcelain-doll visage relegates her ) as their mismatched mates, along with a sly cameo by Wendy Robie as the Gallic housekeeper who's seen it all.