Can Americans "Do" Noel Coward?

[blug]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 11:14am

Ol' Dorothy here doesn't seem to think so.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXH3_AJhO8p/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

But the old bag has a point.  I watched the Kevin Kline Present Laughter after watching Andrew Scott's raucous take on it and was struck by how much looser and more comfortable everyone seemed in the London production whereas the American actors seemed to be playing "British stiff upper lip" as an overriding concept and the whole thing curdled.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 11:30am

Her detailed breakdown of Mark Consuelo’s performance is a true Master Class. 😎🙌🏼

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 1:25pm

One of the best productions of a Noël Coward play I've ever seen was a Blithe Spirit at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, with an entirely American cast.

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 1:45pm

Coward, while quite British in its sensibilities, is still canon in terms of quality stage comedy.

I think it comes down to how the play is presented and directed. The HIGH SPIRITS production at Encores was a flop, and FALLEN ANGELS, while better overall, is still a bit too airy and fizzy to justify a return. Maybe if they stick with a British director who likely has Coward built into their pedigree, they may be able to elicit slightly better productions

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 3:32pm

Coward, like Barrie and WS Gilbert made their careers on either side of the Atlantic, maybe not at the start of their careers but eventually. They appealed to both British and American audiences and made their fortunes with both. I don’t think it’s a question of geographic culture and more one of time. Can audiences still appreciate and enjoy these drawing room comedies of bourgeois morality running up against erotic impulses.

Re: the current “Fallen Angels” revival. The accents are awful except for maybe Rose Byrne but the casting is excellent and the embodiment of character pretty much spot on across the board. I’d take the latter any day over perfect British accents with perfect attention to class distinctions of the period. I don’t think they even do that anymore in London.

Updated On: 4/16/26 at 03:32 PM

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 3:46pm

Absolutely adored Fallen Angels at Roundabout.  Rose Byrne is delivering a masterclass in physical comedy.  Kelli was spectacular - I did not realize and should have because she is so excellent but she nails it.  Production looks exquisite and the audience was super into into the show when I saw it.   

Any fan of Bridesmaids, will fully enjoy.  I have only seen Blithe Spirt, eons ago with Angela Lansbury, and I would say this play feels more structured while also being chaotic in the best sense of the word.  In these insanely dark times, THIS was a total confection. Took my mind off of all of the problems in the world and just laughed.  

Fully recommend this show.  

So my answer I guess is yes

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 4:00pm

I'll also say the discussion of "Brits do accents better!" is silly. I've sat through many shows in London with TERRIBLE American accents. In fact they seem to either generally default to Newsies "New Yaaawkah" or this broad Gone with the Wind genteel southern even when the characters say they're from Colorado or wherever. I saw Good People in London and the Americans behind me were astonished when I said this takes place in Boston because Imelda and others were doing Barbra accents. 

I've also heard plenty of Americans give terrible English accents so my point is it's pretty equal.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 4:26pm

Isn't the world of Noël Coward as alien to modern-day Brits as it is to Americans?

[All that Yazz]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 4:55pm

Hayfever is great! Wouldn’t work in the US. Doesn’t work in the UK.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 9:23pm

I'm not gonna weigh in on Coward (and haven't seen the production) but the old saw that Americans usually can't play Brits but Brits can definitely play Americans is so silly. The American accents I heard studying in London...Good lord, never knew so many emotionally explosive Americans came from New Jersey by way of Dallas where they presumably learned elocution from a Brit raised in Minnesota. 

[nmartin]

Posted: 4/16/26 at 9:31pm

Yazz said, "Hayfever is great! Wouldn’t work in the US. Doesn’t work in the UK."

There was a wonderful production of Hay Fever in 1985 directed by Brian Murray with a cast partly Brit, partly American including Rosemary Harris, Roy Dotrice, Barbara Bryne, Robert Joy, Charles Kimbrough, and Deborah Rush. All were wonderful, especially Rush and Bryne. 

[John Adams]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 7:22am

Scarywarhol said: "the old saw that Americans usually can't play Brits but Brits can definitely play Americans is so silly."

I agree. 

Also, @ blug:

Why do you feel it's acceptable to refer to Dorothy as "Ol' Dorothy" and demean her as being "the old bag"? 

Were you raised to be that way, or is this an example of a choice you've made for yourself?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 7:59am

I have complete faith in Christine Baranski. 🥳

[TheOtherOne2]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 8:32am

nmartin said: "Yazz said, "Hayfever is great! Wouldn’t work in the US. Doesn’t work in the UK."

There was a wonderful production ofHay Fever in 1985 directed by Brian Murray with a cast partly Brit, partly American including Rosemary Harris, Roy Dotrice, Barbara Bryne, Robert Joy, Charles Kimbrough, and Deborah Rush. All were wonderful, especially Rush and Bryne."

I can still see Deborah Rush looking for her contact lens! This production was a joy.

With Coward I don't think the difficulty lies in whether one's sensibility is English or American.  Many of his plays have darker undertones than his legendary bon-vivant public persona would lead one to expect, and often those tones are not even all that "under."  Not everyone finds the balance.

But "Hay Fever" is a true comedic gem. 

 

Updated On: 4/17/26 at 08:32 AM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/17/26 at 11:30am

All that Yazz said: "Hayfever is great! Wouldn’t work in the US. Doesn’t work in the UK."

I saw Hay Fever decades ago, with Rosemary Harris in the lead.  I still remember it with great fondness.  IT would definitely work with the right case.  No question.

[binau]

Posted: 4/18/26 at 2:06am

I really dislike the flippant way she just says that British people are more talented and I have found that people apply this kind of romantic view of British culture believing it is somehow more sophisticated, elegant and educated whereas American culture vulgar and commercial when thinking about West End vs Broadway. Both regions are at the top of their game, and when it comes to musicals in particular the truth is actually the exact opposite of this stereotype. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/18/26 at 6:58pm

TheOtherOne2 said: "nmartin said: "Yazz said, "Hayfever is great! Wouldn’t work in the US. Doesn’t work in the UK."

There was a wonderful production ofHay Feverin 1985 directed by Brian Murray with a cast partly Brit, partly American including Rosemary Harris, Roy Dotrice, Barbara Bryne, Robert Joy, Charles Kimbrough, and Deborah Rush. All were wonderful, especially Rush and Bryne."

I can still see Deborah Rush looking for her contact lens! This production was a joy.

With Coward I don't think the difficulty lies in whether one's sensibility is English or American. Many of his plays have darker undertones than his legendary bon-vivant public persona would lead one to expect, and often those tones are not even all that "under." Not everyone finds the balance.

But "Hay Fever" is a true comedic gem.

Deborah Rush looked for her contact lenses in Noises Off, not Hay Fever..  Contact lenses did not exist when Hay Fever was written.

Both productions were wonderful and I think Rush won a Tony for Noises Off.  I do not even remember her in Hay Fever.  Truth be told, I mainly remember Harris and Joy (and that I sat next to Jason Robards, who was laughing his head off at everything Harris said and did)..

 

[TheOtherOne2]

Posted: 4/18/26 at 10:36pm

My error.