BWW Reviews: Desperate Housewives in FALLEN ANGELS at the Walnut

Noel Coward's 1925 play, Fallen Angels, is still very much alive at the Walnut Street Theater. While they may be dressed in period fashion, main characters Jane and Julia would very easily fit into modern categories like "frenemies" and desperate housewives.  When their husbands go out of town for a golf outing, the two wives, who are feeling a bit unappreciated, are surprised by postcards from a mysterious, French man who happens to be an ex lover and boyfriend to them both. The three acts follow their antics spurred by jealousy, desire, assumptions and a whole lot of alcohol as they await his arrival.

 

The writing, direction and acting work seamlessly to make the relationship between these women incredibly real. It is easy to imagine they have been friends since they were "eight and nine, respectively." Director Malcolm Black has a great sense of comedy, enhancing the humor of the script with physical gesture.  Julia (Susan Riley Stevens) and Jane (Karen Peakes) have many of the same mannerisms and this becomes even more comical as they drink more champagne. The show is not so much driven by plot but rather by character, and both Stevens and Peakes rise to the challenge, engaging the audience from start to finish. They are so in sync that their transitions from depressed to excited to conniving to drunk to enraged are both amplified and more believable.

 

The entire cast shares a great sense of comedic timing. Though the men are offstage for a large part of the play, actors Bill Van Horn and Greg Wood as the husbands use pauses and facial expressions to add to these smaller roles.  Dan Olmstead is entrancing in his moment on stage as the French gentleman, Maurice Duclos. However truly, this is a show for the women. While Stevens and Peakes have the most stage time, Jennie Eisenhower is absolutely hilarious as Saunders, the new maid who has a story for everything and a beautiful singing voice as well.

 

Set Design by Paul Wonsek is beautiful and elaborate, providing different levels and areas, while also giving the sense of a grand London flat. The attention to detail here is obvious. Wonsek also serves as the Lighting Designer for the show. Sound Design by Christopher Colucci provides a great soundtrack during intermissions but also pulls the audience further into the story when the women hear taxis and race to the window. The one weak technical element is the costumes. While the men look well polished in their golf outfits, the twenties style dresses worn by Jane and Julia are especially unflattering, even for the period.

 

While Fallen Angels was controversial at its premier over eighty years ago, its central question of whether a premarital love affair qualifies as being unfaithful to one's husband, is not so shocking today. Instead it is the relationship between these two women which gives the play a new life through its link to modernity.

 

Fallen Angels runs at the Walnut thru May 2^nd for more information visit www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org or see the official press release.

 

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