2024 is starting off with a bang for us here at the HRACTys. After missing the opening weekend of “But Why Bump Off Barnaby?” at Little Theatre of Norfolk over MLK Weekend, the following weekend we decided to embark on a triple play weekend extravaganza! We began this fun community theater weekend on Friday night with the opening night of “Private Lives” at Williamsburg Players.

Noël Coward is known for his witty and hilarious word play. All four main characters have substantial dialogue which they fling back and forth at each other like daggers looking for their mark. Tyler Reeves expertly directs the actors to ensure the maximum impact of their words. The action begins with newlyweds Sybil and Elyot Chase (played by Tori George and Paul Wildenberger respectively) discussing the beauty of their honeymooning location, but the conversation quickly devolves as a suspicious and jealous Sybil requests a comparison between this honeymoon (her first) and Elyot’s first honeymoon (and by extension, his first marriage and first wife). Paul Wildenberger instantly shows the audience what kind of man Elyot is with his aloof demeanor as he insults both his current wife, Sybil, and his first wife, Amanda, in the same breath. I’m sure Noël Coward did not know the word “neg,” but Elyot is a master of this pick-up artist technique. For her part, Tori George demonstrates that while Sybil is the more sympathetic party and typically in the right, her hysterics take away from her ability to have the high ground in an argument.

No sooner than the Chases go into their hotel room, the newlywed Prynnes step out onto their deck next door. Amanda and Victor Prynne (portrayed by Lyra Hale and Robert Stone) have a mirrored conversation of the Chases. Amanda, who happens to be Elyot’s first wife (*cue the gasp*), is on honeymoon with her new husband, Victor. All 4 actors do a wonderful job throughout the play of keeping up the mirroring motif. Even though we essentially get each scene twice, in different configurations of couples, the rat-a-tat dialogue keeps the material fresh and interesting. In her first scene, Amanda proclaims herself, “unreliable.” Victor probably should wish that he took that age old advice of believing people when they tell you who they are. Somehow even with Amanda telling (and showing) us her flaws, Lyra Hale exudes the charm that shows how Amanda gets through life without major consequences.

As the play goes on and the couple configurations change, the actors all have great chemistry with each other. Watching George and Stone argue in the final act has stuck with me all this week. Their back and forth felt so natural that even though they were the mirror to the explosive relationship between Elyot and Amanda, it was hard to tell which couple the play would follow if there had been an Act Four.

The play occurs on two sets: the honeymoon hotel and Amanda’s Parisian apartment. Thanks to David Garrett, the production designer, who built a turntable for this production (and to be used in the future), there is a beautifully dramatic moment revealing Elyot and Amanda in her apartment. I look forward to all the plays to come that will use this great set piece.

This comedy of manners is as fun for the audience to watch as it is uncomfortable for the characters on stage.  Noël Coward would be proud to see this production as part of his 125^th birthday celebration, and you will be happy to see it too!