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'Private Lives' Goes Public With Shenanigans

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By KATHY L. GREENBERG

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 20, 2008

TAMPA - A lot of unbridled shilly-shallying is going on in Tampa. There's also a good deal of hooey and malarkey, and it's all happening at Stageworks' production of "Private Lives" by Noel Coward.

The 1930 play, directed by Anna Brennen, boasts a lot of snappy repartee between two rudderless couples - Elyot and Sybil Chase and Amanda and Victor Prynne. They have unknowingly booked adjoining honeymoon suites at the same hotel in France. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem - a chance to make new friends, perhaps. But in this case it's bad news. Elyot and Amanda were once married to each other, and that makes for awkward conversations across the moonlit terrace.

Elyot and Amanda try to convince their respective spouses to find other accommodations, but neither Sybil nor Victor complies. After a few cocktails, Elyot and Amanda realize they are still in love and run off to Paris without so much as a note of contrition. Once alone, they resort to the behavior that led to their divorce in the first place: constant bickering and a few well-placed slaps. When Sybil and Victor show up to sort things out, the squabbling and lies reach an exhausting high.

These self-centered characters would be too tiresome to take if it weren't for Coward's dishy dialogue. And without the actors' keen performances, that dialogue would fall flat.

Barbara Eaker unequivocally stole the show as Sybil. Over-painted and pretty like a young Lucille Ball, she played the speak-easy era ingenue with pitch-perfect timing and a real knack for Coward's verbosity. Eaker sank her teeth into this petulant, two-dimensional blonde and made her the juiciest character of the night.

Meanwhile, Midge Mamatas conjured the magic of Maggie Smith to portray the narcissistic, sharp-tongued Amanda. Mamatas had most of the best cut-downs, and she might have trumped Eaker's performance if she hadn't stumbled over her lines so often. Chalk it up to preview night jitters and a tired tongue. Regardless, Mamatas was still fun to watch and a good counterweight to Larry Buzzeo's Elyot.

Buzzeo epitomized the suave and dashing cad. He mixed gentleman with jerk so well that it was almost a pity to see him slapped. In contrast, John Chaplin donned the straight man's jacket for Victor - a necessity to balance the shenanigans.

Megan James had the misfortune of playing Louise, the French-speaking maid. Talking quickly does not disguise poor pronunciation of a foreign language, but her rubbery facial expressions helped temper this flaw.

Like any period piece, costumes set the tone. Amy Cianci's elegant silhouettes precisely reflected a more graceful and sophisticated decade.

ON STAGE

Private Lives

WHEN: Through July 27; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Shimberg Playhouse, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa, (813) 222-1001; www.tbpac.org

HOW MUCH: $24.50

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