Review: PRIVATE LIVES at Guthrie Theater

Some things are timeless: art, architecture, human innovation, and even toxic exes, as evidenced in Noel Coward’s 1930’s classic Private Lives.

Just imagine if you went on your honeymoon with a new spouse and on the first day you run into your ex who is honeymooning with their new spouse, forcing you to confront old feelings and unresolved tensions between the two of you. All the while, you are trying to keep your new significant other at bay and questioning, how the heck this could have happened?

That is the essence of the salacious and gut bustlingly funny piece which is now inhabiting the Guthrie Theater’s Wurtele Thrust stage.

Brought to vibrant life by cherished director David Ivers, Private Lives gives the audiences a dash of reality with a large helping of absurdity. Ivers has leaned into that second part very heavily as the story progresses, drawing some incredibly manic and over the top performances out of his cast.

His use of spacial differences is what really stands out within the piece. At times the characters are doing their best to distance themselves from one another, continuously fighting their primal instincts. While in the very next they are on top of each other, giving in to those urges, while it is due to being possessed with passion or rage is anyone’s guess.

Ivers has masterfully directed a piece that could very easily become a mess due to the ebbs and flows of the emotions the actors play but he has diligently instructed his actors to not play everything at level 11. Instead he has created a quartet of passionate people who run the spectrum of their levels of love and hate.

Which brings us to the four leads, four insanely talented leads, and that is not to discount an additional company member who adds their own flare throughout the show. Bradley Beahen may have a smaller role to play as the Piano Player and Louis but he doesn’t waste a moment of his time on stage. His role is essential to the piece as he is the first person the audience sees and hears when they enter the theater. His presence and charm set the stage perfectly for what the audience is in for, comedy galore.

Dustin Bronson delivers an utterly unhinged portrayal of Victor that is so over the top in the most pleasurable way. From the moment he enters the audience is completely endeared to him. While he may have his own flaws, Bronson fully realizes a man who is madly in love with his new wife Amanda and just can’t understand how his new wife could still be so infatuated with her ex.

In a similar situation but someone who longs for the fairy tale marriage is Sibyl, played by great affect by Nikki Massoud, who at first seems like a dainty and agreeable woman, pining for her new husband to shower her with adoration. Although, first appearances can be deceiving and Massoud delivers a remarkably enjoyable performance from end to end of the piece ranging from doe eyed to pure mania when she discovers that Elyot might not only have eyes for her.

Rounding out the couples are the fated Elyot (William Connell) and Amanda (Laura Odeh) who have seemingly become new people since their five year divorce, which might prove to be a facade. Connell’s portrayal of Elyot is nothing short of magnetic. He oozes charisma and charm but his deviousness is on full display right from the start. The performance radiates inspiration from Cary Elwes’ performance of Wesley in the classic film The Princess Bride, a very complimentary notation by the way. Connell’s version of Elyot makes everyone swoon right before he delivers a stunning revelation of his detestation for those around him and yet we still root for him.

He is the perfect compliment to his co-star who embodies the calculated Amanda. Laura Odeh is a titanic force on the Guthrie Stage. She wrings every emotion out of the script that she can and plays them all to perfection. If there is one facet of her being that she plays frighteningly well it is the manipulative damsel. Odeh’s ability to switch between rage and adoration is almost scary but that is why she is queen of the roost in this production.

While the script, direction, and performances are top notch, it needs to be noted that the scenic design by Alexander Dodge is not only striking but it elevates the show to the next level.

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