Fallen Angels Serves a Light, Bubbly Escape
Kelli O'Hara and Rose Byrne bring fizz and physical comedy to Fallen Angels, but Noël Coward’s slight farce can’t shake its tedium.
It can often be awkward to learn that you and your best friend once hooked up with the same guy. It’s even trickier to find out that the mutually shared lover is coming back to town and wants to meet up individually with each of you. Adding even more complexity to the mix is that you’re now both married.
Leave it to Noël Coward to turn such matters into a drawing-room comedy in Fallen Angels. Over a hundred years later, the rarely-seen, 1925 comedy has fluttered to New York for a Broadway revival starring Kelli O’Hara (The Gilded Age) and Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You).
Imagine the tongue wagging and disapproval when it first hit the London stage. It drew the ire of Lord Chamberlain, the official theater arbiter of Great Britain at the time. The topic of pre-marital sex and the “quite unnecessary frankness of expression among women” were enough to almost shut down the production. But after some changes, the strict stickler allowed the show to go on.
Further edits appear to have been made to Roundabout Theatre Company’s production, not because of scandalous material, but due to the running time. While other versions clock in at two hours or more, director Scott Ellis has kept Coward’s French-style farce to 90 minutes. Even then, the paper-thin plot feels a bit tedious.
Still, it’s a treat to watch two beautiful, affluent women revel in their sexuality, pine for the same man, and suppress their natural inclination to “fight like tigers” when he arrives, even if they do promise eternal friendship to one another.
O’Hara, revered as a leading lady of musical theater, certainly has comedic chops, but until Fallen Angels, her knack for physical comedy had yet to be revealed. As Julia Sterroll, one of the ladies in waiting, she lets loose after a couple of strong martinis and bottomless coupe glasses of champagne. Watching her attempt to climb stairs in her own apartment and survive a next-morning hangover is delightfully amusing.
Byrne is no stranger to over-the-top antics, especially in films like Bridesmaids and Spy. She’s comfortable and funny onstage as Jane Banbury, the other lady eagerly anticipating the arrival of her former fling, Maurice DuClos (Mark Consuelos).
O’Hara and Byrne create perfect chemistry. Watching the two of them trying to light their cigarettes while maintaining a glamorous pose reaches a supreme level of humor that a vintage Carol Burnett sketch might elicit.
Aasif Mandvi and Christoper Fitzgerald are ideally cast as hapless husbands Fred and Willy. The stodgy pair have planned a golf outing, leaving their wives to do as they please. The two don’t have much stage time, but there is no reason to protest. This is clearly a showcase for two women — actually, three. Tracee Chimo is an utter delight as Saunders, the housekeeper who has much life experience and knows so many people, it’s hard to believe she’s not lying. “I feel I should be following her around picking up all the names she’s dropped,” quips Julia.
Consuelos, best known for co-hosting the daytime talk show, Live with Kelly & Mark with wife Kelly Ripa, appears late in the play as the sexy Frenchman for whom they’ve both been longing. Consuelos has a ridiculous French accent, but the exaggerated dialect may be heightened for farcical effect.
On the topic of accents, this American cast is delivering the goods on physical comedy, but being authentically British doesn’t come quite as easily. This in no way is a reflection on Kate Wilson’s vocal coaching, but rather an observation that while Brits can generally pull off various American accents with ease, it’s much more difficult for American actors to convince audiences that they possess a British pedigree.
It’s a greater challenge when some of the dialogue, as it is in Fallen Angels, is missed due to inadequate sound design and poor microphone placement, something that will hopefully be improved upon at future performances.
Set Designer David Rockwell has created a stunning Art Deco apartment, complete with a crystal chandelier, and Jeff Mahshie has adorned his cast in elegant twenties fashion, drawing inspiration from Madame Grès and Coco Chanel.
Fallen Angels isn’t an unforgettable night at the theater, but it’s enjoyable enough to transport you to Cloud 9 and keep you enchanted for a brief time.
Fallen Angels (★★★☆☆) is playing through June 2 at the Todd Haimes Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., in New York City. Tickets are $72 to $269. Visit roundabouttheatre.org.
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