"Private Lives" at the Guthrie Theater

The summer of Noël Coward* continues. We started with Blithe Spirit at Theatre in the Round in June, continued with the regional premiere of the new play The Cottage written in the Noël Coward-esque style but with a more modern and feminist sensibility, closing its run at Gremlin Theatre this weekend, and now we've arrived at the Guthrie Theater's stylish production of Private Lives. This show concludes my 22nd season as a Guthrie subscriber, and I last saw it as the opener to my 5th season as a subscriber, 19 years ago. That was pre-Cherry and Spoon, so I have next to no memory of it, and this was like seeing the play for the first time. It's a hilarious comedy, with clever and biting dialogue, showcasing some pretty terrible people that are fun to laugh at. The cast is fantastic, the design is positively luscious, and the three acts fly by at a breathless pace. See it on the Guthrie thrust stage now through August 22.The three acts take place on three distinct days in two different…