Artistic Director Michael Kahn celebrates the madness of a menage a trois emotional roller-coaster with the Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Noel Coward’s Design for Living. The production brilliantly channels the Roaring Twenties and unfolds a self-proclaimed “three-sided erotic hodge podge” with wit, charm, and bohemian elegance.
The play is about a continuous love triangle that follows three young lovers (Otto, Leo, and Gilda) as they make their way from rags to riches. “The circle has swung, and it’s my turn again,” proclaims Otto when Leo catches Gilda warming back up to him after she left Otto for Leo years ago. The lovers play a game of musical chairs that is guided by a sentiment that’s “…not love. Perhaps something a bit below it, but still very strong.” Gretchen Egolf plays a glamorous, but wonderfully neurotic Gilda–who proclaims in the first act of the play “I don’t like women at all–myself least of all of them.” Tom Story’s Otto shines brightest during his moments of debauchery, yet dwindles during his more sober moments. Meanwhile, Robert Stella is a keen mix of Cary Grant and Bogart, with a splash of Will and Grace.
In Act II, Leo asks Gilda what she thinks of his newest play. She admits that the Second Act drags a bit, though all of the lines are sharply delivered. The same is probably true of Design for Living. After Gilda leaves them both, Otto and Leo plunge into an endless debauchery that is best characterized by the lines of the play itself: “That’s what’s wrong with me–too many words.” Leo and Otto play what seems like an endless game of intoxicated “spiritual ping-pong” that ultimately ends with a messy drunk kiss. The lines are cleverly delivered, but the long suggestive build-up leaves little room for surprise.
The world in which the actors play in is the most stunning feat of Shakespeare’s Theatre’s production. The company, which usually takes a minimalist approach to its design, dressed its stage and its actors to the nines. With the exception of First Act’s airy french love nest, the following sets are intricate layouts of Leo and then Gilda’s ornate art deco living spaces. From the stainless steel columns to the fashionably curved love seats, set designer James Noone doesn’t leave a single detail untouched. Meanwhile, costume designer Robert Perdziola gives all the characters a series of full make-overs that get better with every act. Gilda especially is transformed from rags to 1920’s couture and bursts into the second act beautifully coordinated and accessorized.
Kahn and his artistic team joyfully resurrect Coward’s period piece as the characters navigate their “fragile little bark of happiness down the river of life” with glitz, gusto, and glam.
DESIGN FOR LIVING
Starring Gretchen Egolf, Tom Story, Robert Sella and Kevin Hogan. Directed by Michael Kahn, set design by James Noone, and costumes by Robert Perdziola. Presented by the Shakespeare Theatre Company at Lansburgh Theater, 450 7th Street; Washington, DC. Through June 28.
