THEATRE: FALLEN ANGELS

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FALLEN ANGELS

 

Who would think that a play from 1925 would hold up today? I guess most fans of Noel Coward would. I’ve enjoyed others of his plays, as I did Fallen Angels at the Pasadena Playhouse last week, but I was still shocked to discover that it was written in 1925; that fact seriously boggled my mind.

You know I never give the plots away, (there are tons of other critics who love spoiling the shows for everyone,) but I have to say that the raison d’être for the action is that pre-marital sex was had by one or two characters. As amusing as it is in 2013, I can’t help but wonder how it was acted, and received, originally. I don’t know much about that era, but I guess it was a wild time, even abroad. Or, especially! (The action take space in London.)

Pamela J. Gray and Katie MacNichol, featuring just part of the gorgeous set. Photo by Jim Cox.

It’s a six-character play, and all the actors are excellent, especially the three women, ( Pamela J. Gray, Katie MacNichol, and Mary-Pat Green,) who are the stars. None of them appear to be a newbie to show business, with all of them having many years of credits to his or her name, so I was surprised that I had never seen any of them before! I think that just added to my enjoyment, though, because I viewed them as simply the characters they were portraying.

And characters they were! As cerebral as Noel Coward’s brand of humor is, Fallen Angels also features some excellent physical comedy from the ladies. Watch for MacNichol’s spit take—it just may be the best one I’ve ever seen! (Mr. X would say that mine are the best, but those are purely by accident, trust me.) And Ms. Green, as the maid, just about steals the show in her all-too-brief moments on-stage. She’s a riot.

Mary-Pat Green. Photo by Jim Cox.

I love clothing from this period, and David K. Mickelsen’s costumes are excellent. I adored the shoes that “Julia” wears in the second act. I think that when I was little, I played dress-up with my grandmother’s shoes like that! I was sitting semi-close-up, but I kept using my binos to study details of the wardrobe. The people around me must have thought that I was nuts! (And they didn’t even know me!)

And I have to tell you how much I loved the set, designed by Tom Buderwitz. It was gorgeous and, at the same, so utilitarian. I would have loved to live there!

This was far from the best show I’ve ever seen, but it was so enjoyable that I couldn’t even write any notes during it. And an evening like that one, filled with mirth, is what I feel all all theatre should provide. You definitely won’t go wrong with this one!

[Note: this is a short run, so don’t dilly-dally about seeing it.]

Fallen Angels running through February 24, 2013
Pasadena Playhouse 39 South El Molino Ave. Pasadena 626-356-7529 www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org

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  1. Pingback: REVIEW: ‘FALLEN ANGELS’ – ItsNotAboutMe.tv « Pasadena Playhouse

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