The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Newsletter • Summer 2019 commitment to do another play, so Coward threatened that he was going to cast another actress, but unknown to Coward, Lawrence had cleared her THE DIRECTOR’S TAKE schedule and was already learning her lines while staying at a villa in South- By Dennis Razze, play Private Lives. Coward and Law- Eastern France. Coward joined her rence were great friends, some even Associate Artistic Director there in July, and they began working believed lovers, but that is unlikely. on the play together. first became aware of the Coward did adore Lawrence even playwright, composer, and though they often wrangled. Cow- By August they were back in Lon- I raconteur Noël Coward when I was ard wrote Private Lives while he was don rehearsing the play with the two in college. The fledgling Allentown on tour in Asia. He contracted a bad actors who would play Sibyl Chase College theatre company produced case of the flu in Shanghai and was and Victor Prynne. Coward cast his musical comedy Red Peppers. This ill for two weeks. During that time, Adrianne Allen and Laurence Olivier 1936 musical in one act was part of a he drafted the shape of a play that as the honeymooning spouses because collection of plays known as Tonight at he felt that they needed to be attrac- 8:30. The original production starred would become Private Lives, and he wrote the actual script in four days. He tive people who would be credible Noël Coward and famed British marriage partners to Elyot and Aman- actress Gertrude Lawrence as George immediately sent copies of the play to da. While rehearsing the play, the and Lily Pepper who were a husband Gertrude Lawrence and his manager and wife touring duo that performed to ask their reactions to the play. He Lord Chamberlain—who must ap- in the provincial English music hall. I also asked Lawrence to reserve the fall prove all plays for production—took thought it was great fun, and I became of that year to star opposite him in a exception to the second act love scene even more intrigued by Coward when production of the play which he would because the couple was divorced and we produced Oh, Coward!, a musical also direct in London. now married to others. Coward went revue of Coward’s acerbically witty himself to plead the case of the play songs like “Don’t Put Your Daughter Coward received as many as thirty by performing the entirety of it before on the Stage, Mrs. Worthington!” as telegrams back from Lawrence who the censor, and saying that the scene well as some of his bitter sweet love first said that the play had “nothing would not be objectionable due to his songs like “I’ll See You Again.” wrong with it that can’t be fixed.” artful direction. The Lord Chamber- Audiences loved seeing Coward Coward shot back that the only thing lain relented and rehearsals continued. that was going to be fixed was her and Lawrence perform together, a continues on page 3... pairing that began with Coward’s 1930 performance. Lawrence had a previous The Playwright: Noël Coward Noël Peirce Coward was born in 1899 and made his professional stage debut as Prince Mussel in The Goldfish at the age of 12, leading to many child actor appearances over the next few years. His breakthrough in playwriting was the controversial The Vortex (1924) which featured themes of drugs and adultery and made his name as both actor and playwright in the West End and on Broadway. During the frenzied 1920s and the more sedate 1930s, Coward wrote a string of successful plays, musicals and intimate revues including Fallen Angels (1925), Hay Fever (1925), Easy Virtue (1926), This Year of Grace (1928), and Bitter Sweet (1929). His professional partnership with childhood friend Gertrude Lawrence started with Private Lives (1930) and continued with Tonight at 8:30 (1936). During World War II, he remained a successful playwright, screenwriter and director, as well as en- tertaining the troops and even acting as an unofficial spy for the Foreign Office. His plays during these years continues on page 3... Notes from the Producing Artistic Director Thank you to our sponsors. It’s been a joy to share our 2019 season with you thus far—both Crazy for You and The Mystery of Season Sponsor Irma Vep have delighted audiences Valerie Moritz Smith and hopefully provided festive and refreshing summer entertainment. The Associate Season Sponsors second half of our season offers three Linda Lapos Kathleen Kund Nolan & The Szarko Family masterworks— & Paul Wirth Timothy E. Nolan Shakespeare’s take on one of the most Patrick Mulcahy famous love stories Sponsors of all time—Antony and Cleopatra, alternating with one of the finest modern comedies spiced with the acerbic wit of Noël Coward—Private Amaranth Lives—“an intimate comedy” which peeks Foundation behind the curtain to reveal shaken, not stirred, romantic escapades. Steve & Jane Lee & Dolly Amy Miller Look forward to a continued stream of Auvil Butz Cohen, Ph.D. gifted artists. Stage, television, and film actors Neal Bledsoe and Nondumiso Tebe will portray the legendary Roman warrior and the Egyptian Douglas queen in a striking new production directed Dykhouse by acclaimed director Eleanor Holdridge. The wonderful Eleanor Handley, Olivia in last season’s Twelfth Night and West Coast stage Susan Henry and screen actor Matthew Floyd Miller, will Martin & Brenda & John play the divorced couple who, now on their James T. Martin Jr. McGlade honeymoons with new spouses, fall in love all over again in Private Lives. Dennis Razze, director of last season’s critically acclaimed production of Ragtime directs this hilarious romp. Dr. James & David B. Rothrock & Penny Pantano Patrina L. Rothrock Our “Extreme Shakespeare,” in which the actors direct themselves in much the same way Shakespeare’s actors would have rehearsed at the Globe, is Henry IV, Part 1. John Ahlin will Drs. Paul & Darbin & Deborah Keith & return to perform the irrepressibly comedic June Schlueter Skeans Stefanie Wexler and insightful Sir John Falstaff and Prince Hal will be played by Mairin Lee who starred as Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love last season. For your children, look forward to The Festival Host Sponsor Adventures of Robin Hood and Maid Marian as well as the terrific Shakespeare for Kids where your kids can be introduced to the Bard of Avon in a fun and entertaining experience created just for them. Arrive early to performances and enjoy the Pennsylvania Shakespeare PSF receives state arts funding beauty of our outdoor space, On the Green, Festival’s productions of Antony & support through a grant from with enhanced dining and seating options that Cleopatra and Henry IV, Part 1 are the Pennsylvania Council on the are not to be missed. part of Shakespeare in American Arts, a state agency funded by the Communities, a program of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Thanks for being part of our 2019 season National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for and I hope to see you in the lobby! in partnership with Arts Midwest. the Arts, a federal agency. PSF is the Official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 2 • THE QUILL, SUMMER 2019 610.282.WILL Private Lives continued their sudden decision to immediately flee to Paris, leaving their current spouses behind without even an explanation. The play was originally met with a mixed critical re- It is supremely ridiculous, but it makes for delicious com- sponse, but because of its entertainment value has proven edy—especially because the rogue couple consists of such extraordinarily popular with audiences ever since. Noël urbane and entertaining people as Elyot and Amanda. Coward later wrote: PSF has cast captivating, witty actors as the two couples. “The critics described Private Lives variously as ‘tenu- Eleanor Handley, who you may remember played Maggie ous, thin, brittle, gossamer, iridescent, and delightfully in our production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Kate in our most recent The Taming of the Shrew, as well daring’. All of which connoted in the public MAIN STAGE mind cocktails, repartee and irreverent as Olivia in last season’s Twelfth Night, will play JULY 18 to AUGUST 4 allusions to copulation, there- Amanda. by causing a gratifying num- Matthew Floyd Miller, an actor ber of respectable people to with many successful television queue up at the box office.” and regional theatre credits and is new to PSF, will play Elyot. Luigi Audiences responded enthusi- Sottile, who played the title role astically to the play, and it has in last year’s terrific Shakespeare been revived many times to great in Love, returns to play Victor success. A film of the play was Prynne. Sybil Chase will be por- made in 1931 starring Robert trayed by Talley Gale, a skilled Montgomery and Norma Shear- comedienne who is also making er. Coward himself found the her PSF debut. film only passable. On the stage, Both the set and the costume famous actors who have played designs for Private Lives must Elyot and Amanda include Brian Gertrude Lawrence and Noël Coward in Private Lives, 1930 be as elegant and sophisticated Bedford and Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen and Penelope as the characters. Our designers, Roman Tatarowicz and Keith, Bill Nighy and Helena Bonham Carter, and most re- Sarah Cubbage, have come up with a wonderful art deco cently the late Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan. I recall environment and some beautiful gowns and formal attire seeing the 1983 Broadway production that starred Richard that should certainly create the desired effervescence of the Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, and certainly their real life play.