As a culture, we love messy relationships. We soak up hours upon hours of reality television, where ill-begotten flings are designed to fail. We judge it behind our screens, becoming invested and righteous as we judge from our couches.
There’s something oh-so-tantalizing about watching lustful couples try to defy the odds even when we know the inevitable outcome. “Private Lives” at Cleveland Play House is rife with love-and-lust-ridden characters making terrible decisions, tapping sumptuously into our human penchant for drama.
Written in 1930 by English playwright Noël Coward, “Private Lives” has populated stages for a century. The three-act play starts when Elyot and Sibyl arrive at a posh hotel in Deauville, France, for their honeymoon. Their courtship was short, and Sibyl is eager to learn more about Elyot’s past and, most gratingly, about his previous marriage to Amanda. Like Elyot, Amanda has moved on, marrying Victor. Victor also pries into Amanda’s past relationship, but Amanda is eager to simply enjoy her honeymoon — at a fancy hotel in Deauville, France. Yes, where both couples are staying.
When Elyot and Amanda reunite, they soon find their hate for one another has not simmered their attraction. Overcome with love and lust, they flee to Paris, leaving their spouses. Nestled in a Parisian flat, the reasons underlying their divorce come rising back to the surface.
Coward’s century-old script proves its staying power in the hands of director Christopher Liam Moore, who approaches dialogue with rapid-fire delivery, humor with light-hearted wit and characters with compelling chemistry.
While the plot is simple, the drama between Elyot and Amanda is thick as the two push and pull. It’s inherently clear that their strong and stubborn personalities don’t match — or do they? Logic argues they do not belong together. Elyot and Amanda squabble and bite, then admire and embrace — all within a few breaths — their particular brand of crazy.
Playing the problematic couple are Jordan Barbour and Kate Mulligan. Elyot is condescending and pompous, but Barbour plays him with physicality that tickles rather than bristles. His imposing stature, coupled with outbursts fitting of a spoiled child, is just comic. Embodying Amanda, Mulligan meets Barbour tit for tat. Mulligan is in one moment elegant and intimidating the next. She insults with a ferocity that can make the words cut. Together Barbour and Mulligan play a verbal tug-of-war, rife with Britishisms, constantly seeking to best the other with delightful, devilish repertoire.
In the roles of the normal, new spouses are Jamie Ann Romero as Sibyl and Mikhail Roberts as Victor. Romero is charming as Elyot’s younger, naive wife. Her Sibyl, love-struck and full of hope, is by and far the most endearing character on stage. Roberts’s Victor is stoic, acting as the comedic straight man who buffets against the surrounding eccentricity on stage. Rounding out the small cast is Madalyn Baker as Louise, an exasperated French maid who is tired of everyone’s drama.
“Private Lives” does show its age. One characters believes “certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs.” A couple of lines like may make you wince, but they’re delivered flippantly in a way that diminishes their punch. As do the fight scenes.
While set in a different century, the show stays modern with its jazzy and instrumental takes on pop music (“Bridgerton” style). When we’re not humming to “Bad Romance” plinked out on the piano, Jacqueline Herter’s sound design provides an outside ambiance — crashing waves and a distant orchestra.
Staged in the Outcalt Theatre, Lex Liang’s Art Deco set thrusts the chic Parisian flat aesthetic, a design beautifully lit in romantic and sunny colors by designer Jakyung Seo. The actors are dressed by designer Oona Natesan in formal wear and pajamas constructed of luxurious fabrics that speak to the period.
Is the show a depiction of healthy relationships? Not in the least. But, as is evidenced in Instagram dirty laundry to “Love Island” charades, bad behavior made public is far more entertaining than the comfy private kind. In the case of “Private Lives,” a messy love story and a polished production make for tantalizing theater.
“Private Lives” runs through Nov. 22, 2026, at Cleveland Play House,1407 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. Tickets can be purchased by calling (216) 241-6000 or by visiting clevelandplayhouse.com, $66-$78.