Wives go wild, flapper-style in coward’s in ‘Fallen Angels’

MONMOUTH — Noël Coward’s comedy “Fallen Angels” opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 17, at Theater at Monmouth. Smart, stylish and witty, the play takes you on hilarious ride as two women take on the nature of commitment, the sexual double standard, and each other for the chance to rekindle an old flame. Coward’s fast-paced comedy of manners discards social codes and exposes the foibles of the British upper class.

Director Brendon Fox thinks Cowards’ characters are relatable which makes them favorites of audiences everywhere. “(The characters) say and do things that we in the audience may wish we could say to a partner or friend, and we love them for being a little transgressive and naughty,” Fox said. “In our modern world which hurtles along at breakneck speed, I hope Fallen Angels allows us to embrace — for a few hours — characters who want to suck the marrow out of every moment in their lives.”

Best friends, Jane and Julia, “fell” seven years earlier when they had affairs with the same dashing Frenchman. Now settled into humdrum marriages, the two pine for passion. With their husbands away for the weekend, the women receive word that their lover has returned. Passions soar, spirits fly, and insults are hurled as the women grapple with fidelity and the flush of forbidden fruit.

Fallen Angels features Olivia Williamson as Julia Sterroll; Josh Carpenter as Fred Sterroll; Marlowe Holden as Saunders; Jacob Sherburne as Willy Banbury; Erica Murphy as Jane Banbury, and Jordan Coughtry as Maurice Duclos. Set and costume design by Lex Liang, lights by Stephen Jones, and sound by Rew Tippin.

Performance calendar: Preview, 7:30 p.m. July 16; opening, 7:30 p.m. July 17; additional performances: 7:30 p.m. July 25, Aug. 7, 11, 19, 22; 1 p.m. Aug. 12 and 16; 7 p.m. Aug. 9 with post-show talk-back. Tickets cost $10-$30, and $10 rush tickets are available for every performance to anyone younger than 30. Discounts available for groups of 10 or more. For calendar and reservations, call 933-9999 or visit www.theateratmonmouth.org.

Theater at Monmouth, founded in 1970, was named the Shakespearean Theater of Maine by the State Legislature in 1975. The theatre’s mission is to present innovative approaches to Shakespeare and other classic plays through professional productions that enrich the lives of people throughout Maine. Since its founding, TAM has produced expertly crafted, engaging productions in its three-month Summer Repertory Season entertaining audiences from 36 states and through Education Tours annually reaching more than 15,000 students statewide.