NOEL COWARD'S SUITE IN 2 KEYS

We don't hear much smart, elegant talk nowadays, and so when we are fortunate enough to eavesdrop on conversations like the ones depicted in the short plays that comprise Noel Coward's Suite in 2 Keys we are privileged indeed. This is particularly true when the likes of Judith Ivey, Hayley Mills, and Paxton Whitehead are doing the conversing: stylish, commanding actors all three, they make us grateful to be in the theatre with them. The first, and slighter, offering in this Suite is Shadows of the Evening, in which a man's long-time mistress sends for his estranged (but not divorced) wife because he has only a few months left to live. Shadows of the Evening offers some neat repartee for the flamboyant mistress and the more conventional wife, but the soul of this piece is the man's courageous face-off with death, splendidly played with an understated forcefulness by the heroic Whitehead. After intermission comes the meatier A Song at Twilight, in which a successful writer near the end of his distinguished career is visited by an old flame who wants to blackmail him--emotionally rather than financially, and for good cause. Ivey sparkles in this piece, especially in its leisurely first scene, exasperatingly and deliciously lingering over a lavish supper while tantalizingly withholding from her host the reason for her visit. Ivey's way with the caviar, champagne, and filet mignon before her is hilarious, recalling Carol Channing's famous eating scene in Hello, Dolly!, yet she never breaks character. I like that Coward trusted enough in his actors and his native wit to let this scene run as long and languidly as it does before ending it--stunningly--with the revelation that propels the rest of the play. (I leave it to you to discover what that is; suffice to say that it takes the author on a soul-searching journey that is finally, for him and for us, extremely rewarding.) Whitehead is also fine in this piece; Hayley Mills, whom we remember from her days a teen film star several decades ago, is disarmingly lovely in both plays. Smart and sparkling and just a touch sentimental, Noel Coward's Suite in 2 Keys offers words and notions--and performances--to treasure.

The following review was found on the Lesbian & Gay New York Online website:

The two plays — one about a man who has been told he has three months to live and the other about a famous man forced to face the demons of his past, both of whom with two key women in their lives — are mordantly funny, genuine, and heartfelt. Clearly this is the work of Coward late in his life when he felt less encumbered by his talent to amuse but instead the approach of death or the regrets of love denied oneself. Coward being Coward, though, his gimlet eye and wry take on even the most dire situations adds the kind of levity one hopes to find in the world as a critical element of survival, whether confronting a terminal diagnosis or a homosexual love discarded in favor of propriety and fame.

Director John Tillinger is always at his best in finding the truth in relationships. Here he really has nothing else to do — it’s all relationships and interaction — so he’s at the top of his form, finding the telling details of the characters that give the production a marvelous richness, ably helped by the stylish hotel suite designed by James Noone.

The cast is wonderful, stage veterans who know their way around language and situation with style. Paxton Whitehead plays both men with a kind of distant authority of a man past his prime. Both characters, though subtly different, are equally compelling. Judith Ivey plays the more brazen of the two women in each piece. She has a kind of regulated abandon that is irresistible and impeccable comic timing in the second piece in particular. Hayley Mills in her New York stage debut is lovely. Her characters, both quiet and strong, do not lack for intelligence. Nor should their relatively conservative exteriors be allowed to obscure the fact that these women are realists whose passions, though not flamboyant, are equally powerful and deep. Ms. Mills in an actress fully in charge of her art, making even the smallest expression true to the hearts of her characters.

Coward knows what we try to hide from — that we all fear death and loneliness and will go nearly to any lengths to avoid, or put off, confronting what we always know looms in the darkness. Coward’s solution is wonderfully clear — to try to find the ability to fully experience, through laughter and tears, the fate that man was born for.

The following review was found on the Electronic Link Journey website:

                HAYLEY         JUDITH          PAXTON
                MILLS           IVEY          WHITEHEAD
                                  
                                 IN
                            Noel Coward's
                          SUITE IN TWO KEYS
                                  
                      SHADOWS OF THE EVENING &
                          A SONG AT TWILIGHT
                                  
                                With
                          CHRISTIAN MAELEN
                                  
                       LUCILLE LORTEL THEATRE
                       121 Christopher Street
                            212-239-6200
                                  
               Set Design:                JAMES NOONE  
               Costume Design:            DAVID LOVELESS
               Lighting Design:           DENNIS PARICHY
               Sound Design:              JIM van BERGEN 
               Wigs:                      PAUL HUNTLEY
               Production Stage Manager:  SCOTT PEGG 
               Technical Supervisor:      ROB CONOVER
               Original Music:            JONATHAN FAIMAN
                                  
                             Directed by
                           JOHN TILLENGER
                                  
                                  
The name Noel Coward conjures up images of drawing rooms,
smoking jackets, lots of liquor and cigarettes and incredible verbal wit. 
SUITE IN 2 KEYS has all that and an unexpected added dimension
of sadness.  Maybe it was due to the fact that the plays were
performed near the end of his life but the plays are all the more
poignant when one remembers that Mr. Coward played the male lead
in both of these two plays.

The first play SHADOWS OF THE EVENING deals with the
mistress and wife of man coming to terms with the news that he has
only a few months to live.  The second A SONG AT TWILIGHT 
is about a man and his former mistress meeting again after many years. 
He is confused by her appearance, she has come to reveal a secret
from his past and his wife seems to be clear headed and aware of
everything.

Judith Ivey and Hayley Mills are just great.  They have a nice rapport
that carries through their performances even when they are playing
women who have been angry at each other for years.  There is a
comfort level that these two women have that makes the audience
seem right at home and part of their lives.  Ms Ivey, always a treat to
see on stage, is amazingly adept at transforming herself from upper
class mistress to a less refined actress from one play to the next.  Ms
Mills also slides easily from stoic abandoned wife to a mousy, German
secretary/wife.   Time may show on Ms Mills exterior but you can still
see and feel the girl we remember from the Disney movies underneath.

Paxton Whitehead does not fare as well in his roles, but I feel that part
of the problem lies with Mr Coward himself.  He probably intended to
play these roles himself and thus there was  lots of subtext  he added
to the roles that is not written down in the script.  Mr. Whitehead is
likeable and has the ability to banter in the Coward witty style, he is
just at a disadvantage with the better writing of the women's roles and
the strong actresses that he must play opposite. 

The Swiss hotel suite set is not to be missed.  Decked out in rich
wood veneers of Art Deco, the room is exquisite.  Amazing to look
at and perfectly functional as a Noel Coward set.  The actors and set
come alive in the lighting design by Dennis Parichy.  The play takes
place in the 1960's and I'm only sorry that we couldn't have seen more
fun fashions from David Loveless.  The evening gowns were a delight.

Come to the Lucille Lortel Theatre to see these plays, but come not
with the intent to see funny repartee.  Come to see another dimension
to Noel Coward.  The witty lines are still there, only now they are
more bittersweet.

               Jon Lee