"PRIVATE LIVES"
Reviewed by Linda Jo Scott
Published 25 Aug 1996, Battle Creek (MI) Enquirer
Dinner at the Victorian Villa and the house production of Noel Coward's "Private Lives" provide a perfect late summer evening for anyone who appreciates elegance.
One should plan, first of all, to arrive at this splendid Union City mansion at least a half-hour early. This will provide time to tour the formal gardens and take in the sumptuous formal entry way, living room and dining room of the bed and breakfast before being seated for the elegantly served five-course dinner. Once seated, one is treated to an aperitif or Armstrong Ridge Brut champagne.
For the dinner itself, the chef serves salmon mousse and skewer kabobs, and then, the piece de resistance, "Death by Chocolate Torte" (not for the faint of heart).
At left: Clockwise from top right -- John Sherwood, Katari Brown, Carmen Campbell and Marv Boyes.
After the dinner, the guests are led to a large red and green tent in the garden, where John Sherwood and troupe give a shortened but lively production of "Private Lives: An Intimate Comedy." Intimate it is, with just four characters (plus butler). And comic it is, as well, sounding at times like Oscar Wilde at his silliest.
All four actors are very strong. John Sherwood, who abridged, adapted, and directed the piece -- as well as starring in it as Elyot Chase -- is particularly delightful. His snobbishness is unequaled, his urbanity sublime.
Sherwood's wife, Katari Brown, is his match on the boards, in her portrayal of Amanda Prynne, Elyot's first wife. And, to continue the family tradition, his son Nathan plays Louis, the Parisian butler, and does tech for the production. ...
Carmen Campbell and Marv Boyes, in the two supporting roles, are also captivating and help complete the typical Cowardly world of fickle society. Love is silly, tempestuous, and totally unpredictable, the playwright keeps screaming, and all of the actors scream it with him....
An evening at the Victorian Villa falls definitely into the luxury class, but all of the elements, from the gardens and furnishings through the dinner and the play, made up a deliciously unique evening not soon forgotten.
Linda Jo Scott is on the faculty of Olivet College.
Contact JOHN C. SHERWOOD by e-mail.
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