Three's Company at Publick's 'Design For Living'

"Design For Living"
Written by Noel Coward; directed by Spiro Veloudos; scenic design by J. Michael Griggs; costume design by Rafael Jaen; lighting design by Scott Clyve

Cast:
Otto – Gabriel Kuttner
Gilda – Susanne Nitter
Leo – Diego Arciniegas
Ernest Friedman – Nigel Gore
Mrs. Hodge – Beth Gotha
Henry Carver – Richard Arum
Helen Carver – Janelle Mills
Grace Torrance – Jocelyn Parrish
Matthew/Mr. Birbeck – Paul Melendy

Performances: Now through January 27
Box Office: 617-933-8600 or online at www.bostontheatrescene.com

For more information about the Publick Theatre, call 617-782-5425 or go to www.publicktheatre.com.

"You're making a mistake. You are making a mistake in daring to disapprove of something that has nothing to do with you whatever." -Otto

This is the mistake we are all guilty of, and the one which Noel Coward's Design For Living is attempting to ameliorate. The Publick Theatre, known for their outdoor summer theater, has moved inside for the winter with Design For Living, Noel Coward's play based on the group dynamic between himself and his two closest friends, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, which opened at the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center For the Arts this past Sunday. A witty comedy featuring snappy dialogue and unconventional ideas about marriage, Design For Living explores the quintessential "love-triangle," one in which love flows freely between genders and equally among all three friends. The eccentric threesome includes Otto (Kuttner), Gilda (Nitter), and Leo (Diego Arciniegas) – an artist, an interior designer, and a playwright, respectively. They insult each other with cutting sarcasm, they hurt each other unintentionally as well as intentionally, but most of all, they love each other and are destined to be, all three, together.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the play is its disregard and irreverence towards the institution of marriage. When asked why she does not want to marry Otto, Gilda answers simply: "I love him!" Marriage is referred to as something fun to do to as a lark and is only suggested in a joking manner. Even when Gilda marries Ernest, a good friend of the three, she has to leave him because he cannot understand their dynamic, calling them a "three-sided erotic hodge-podge."

The cast features two of the Publick's own staff: Diego Arciniegas (Artistic Director) and Susanne Nitter (Producing Director), who both deliver stellar performances as Leo and Gilda. Arciniegas, Nitter, and Gabriel Kuttner (Otto) have a fantastic, explosive chemistry onstage together and an energy which makes nearly three hours of theatre fly by. Among the rest of the very strong cast is Beth Gotha as Mrs. Hodge, a particular standout as Gilda and Leo's housekeeper whose Cockney accent and comedic nuances punctuate the second act.

Design For Living also boasts an excellent "design for theatre." Rafael Jaen's costume design is well suited to the personalities of the characters and smoothly changes from act to act, assisted by Scott Clyve's lighting design, which projects a different window view for each new apartment as Gilda, Otto, and Leo rise in social status. J. Michael Griggs' set design, cleverly inspired by various Matisse paintings, is colorful, playful, and flexible, effectively changing from a Paris studio to a London flat to a New York penthouse.

Although the world disapproves of Gilda, Otto, and Leo, it doesn't matter. It doesn't concern them. No matter how dysfunctional they are together, the ties of love and friendship are too strong. That is what Design For Living is about: it is an anthem to standing up to the regulations and standards of society and to doing what is right, despite harsh criticism from others. This message is just as relevant and important today (although less controversial) as it was when Design For Living first opened on Broadway in 1933.

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