The joys of working with Noel Coward
Vivian Matalon directed the writer-actor in 1966; now he brings his one-acts to the Berkshires
By now, Vivian Matalon is truly an expert on "Noel Coward in Two Keys." Matalon is directing the two one-act plays that make up "Two Keys" at the Berkshire Theatre Festival starting Tuesday. And not only has he directed the plays twice before, but the first time was in the original London production in 1966 - starring Coward himself.
"The depth of emotions Coward explores are quite profound," Matalon says. "I have vivid memories of his performances."
Coward posed a unique challenge for a director, Matalon says. "He had a natural resistance to being told what to do, but a strong professional instinct made him listen," Matalon says. "If I asked him to do something, he might say, 'I don't agree, dear,' and then he'd go ahead and do it.
"I know being 'Noel Coward' weighed on him, and the demands made on his wit lasted long after the curtain went down. But during rehearsals and in performance, he was committed to making every scene feel real and every moment be true, which is what every director asks his actors for."
As a playwright, Coward is best known for capturing the humorously shallow sophistication of the English upper classes in the 1920s through 1940s.
But "Two Keys" retains a contemporary edge, Matalon says. It's "about the consequences of spending your life being dishonest about who you are, and I don't think that will ever be outdated," Matalon says. "Because it's Coward, it's wonderfully witty but often very poignant."
The "two keys" of the title are the plays "Come Into the Garden, Maud" and "A Song at Twilight," both of which are set at a luxurious hotel in Switzerland. "Maud" follows an American couple in which both the man and woman are entertaining a member of royalty and discovering money isn't everything. "Twilight" is a battle of wits between a famous author and the women in his life.
The character of the author was based on the writer W. Somerset Maugham, says Matalon, "who ruined his life by not acknowledging who he was."
Matalon explains further. "It's about tolerance," he says. "Coward was never a closeted gay man. That era of gay men did not parade it, but they didn't hide it, either. Many of his closest intimates were women, but he never used them or pretended his relationships with them were something more."
Written near the end of Coward's life, the plays depict men (played by the same actor in both plays) who look back on the choices they've made and the impact they've had on the people who've loved them.
For Matalon, the plays have a particular resonance. After directing Coward in the London production (which included a third play, "Shadows of the Evening" and was then called "Suite in Three Keys"), he helmed the New York production with Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, and Anne Baxter in 1974, a year after the playwright's death. After the first production, "Shadows of the Evening," which Matalon calls "a noble failure," was dropped.
"It was a comedy about terminal illness," he says, "and it had some remarkable writing, but it just didn't work. When a producer suggested we just play 'Maud' and 'Twilight' on Broadway, I spoke to Noel about it and he agreed, and then asked me to make any necessary cuts in the other plays, saying he was too close to them. He was the easiest, least defensive writer I ever worked with."
Despite the indelible performances he's witnessed in earlier productions, Matalon says he's not tempted to ask actors to mimic something someone else did.
"Each new cast creates new possibilities," he says, "and these are such character-driven plays, everything depends on what the actors bring. When Noel Coward played the role, audiences came to the theater looking for Coward. With Jessica Tandy, they saw Blanche du Bois, and with Anne Baxter they saw Eve Harrington. We had to overcome the audience's expectations, but with this cast there is no baggage, and we can start fresh."
The Berkshire Theatre Festival production features Casey Biggs ("Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), Maureen Anderman ("Third" and "The Sisters Rosensweig" at the Huntington Theatre Company), and Mia Dillon ("Crimes of the Heart" on Broadway).
"I never know how audiences will respond to plays, but I think the fact that I'm still moved by these plays is a good sign," Matalon says. 