The High Style Hijinx of "Fallen Angels" on Broadway

Rose Byrne and Kelli O'Hara in "Fallen Angels" (photos by Joan Marcus) 

     TD and I recently had the pleasure of seeing "Fallen Angels" starring Rose Byrne and Kelli O'Hara on Broadway. Ads for this play popped up on my social media and I thought a play by Noel Coward from the 1920s with direction by Scott Ellis and a set by David Rockwell starring these two fine actresses sounded right up my ally so we ordered some tickets. 

   The play is mounted by the Roundabout Theater Company at the Todd Haimes Theater on West 42nd Street. Modern day New York City imposed itself on the way to the theater as one has to run an obstacle course through ugly construction and scaffolding to get there. And the grand theater, built in 1918, has undergone a renovation that includes a little unattractive lobby and a tiny bar. Not a very glamorous arrival. But once inside the theater itself, with its elegant decoration and historic architecture, the stage was set for an escapist entertainment. 

     Noel Coward wrote "Fallen Angels" when he was 24 and it was initially censored by Lord Chamberlain in England for it's "discussion of pre-marital sex" and the "quite unnecessary frankness of expression among women."  Apparently, in England, in the 20s, women were not supposed to feel sexual desire. With a few changes, the play premiered in 1925 and has been produced only a couple of times since. 

     The story involves two upper class, married, society lady friends who find themselves fighting over a Frenchman they both knew in their single days. The plot starts off quite traditionally and a little slow but I think it was directed that way in order to contrast with the hijinx that is to come. As the polite friends Julia (O'Hara) and Jane (Byrne) drink more cocktails, they get increasingly argumentative and competitive with each other that culminates in laugh-out-loud lines and uproarious physical humor. 

     The very glamorous Art Deco set by Rockwell Group and gorgeous costumes by Jeff Mahshie are a delight to the eye and offer a traditional, polished framework as the mayhem ensues. Because within the sophisticated decor and while wearing beautiful clothes, the fun is watching two very proper actresses really go at it and completely lose it over a man. We first saw and admired Kelli O'Hara in the musical play "The Light in the Piazza" and she now stars in "The Gilded Age" on HBO. Rose Byrne was reserved but so funny in the movies "Bridesmaids" and "Spy." In this play she has a cool British aristocratic attitude which is especially amusing to watch disintegrate. O'Hara and Byrne are good sparing partners as they deliver their fast cutting lines. With gorgeous visuals to look at and a hilarious script, it was a fun, fizzy night at the theater that was thoroughly entertaining. 

     "Fallen Angels" is running through June 7th and tickets are available here.  

      

      

 

The Beauty of the Layered Home

Celebrating the book's publication with Ben. 

     My friend, talented magazine editor Ben Raynaert, has published a new decorating book called The Layered Home, and it's a pleasure to behold, filled with the colorful, exuberant homes of creative tastemakers plus lots of tips and inspiration. Ben favors interiors that are warm, personal and joyful, and the book features 17 homes in the United States and Europe that express his fondness for delightful decorating. 

     "My idea for the book was to focus on highlighting creatives in the industry - designers, artisans, antiques dealers, shop owners - who have really unique personalities and very unique spaces," reports Ben. "These interiors reflect who the person is. The subjects have their own distinctive taste that they have cultivated over years." 

    I was happy to see that the first chapter in the book features London-based garden designer Butter Wakefield who I had the pleasure of interviewing and writing about for Frederic magazine.

Butter Wakefield's charming bathroom. (All photos were shot exclusively for the book by Manuel Rodriguez) 

      You can read my story about Butter, which Ben produced, here.

      For Ben, mixing objects with meaning creates interiors that resonate. "I love layering different things together whether that's a salon-style wall with lots of different art I have collected or a coffee table with layers of objects and books and trinkets and treasures I have picked up over the years," he says. "I like having things around that feel really personal to me." His interest in interiors that are imbued with stories and memories reminds me of the books of my friend Mary Randolph Carter, who likewise advises that you "live with the things you love."

 

The cheerful kitchen of London art dealer Julia Collins.

     Ben grew up in suburban Detroit in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and then studied fine arts and architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. A job in Italy working for a book binder and print maker lead to a position in New York at the Morgan Library & Museum as an assistant to the book conservator. A gig at Martha Stewart Living magazine then blossomed into a career as a magazine editor at a number of design titles including Architectural Digest, Domino, House Beautiful and Traditional Home. Besides being an author, multi-hyphenate Ben is the Market Director at Elle Decor magazine, an interior stylist, and a co-founder with PR guru Christina Juarez of the popular shopping event The Ticking Tent. 

The Litchfield, Connecticut, home of designer Schuyler Samperton. 

   In the midst of a range of digital and social media, Ben remains passionate about print magazines. "I love paper and I've studied paper making," he says. "I've always been really drawn to the cadence in a print magazine that showcases spaces in a series of photographs. Especially for interiors, you want to see them big." Beyond print, he embraces digital technology and indeed has a popular Instagram account at @spoonfulofbenjamin. "But at the end of the day its nice to hold something and read in your favorite chair on the weekend by the window," says Ben. "Print is now more of a luxury than it ever has been and it's increasingly more important to luxury advertisers so I do think we can have both." 

  

Anjiri Aki's Parisian home. 

     The layered home provides a comfortable place to retreat and relax though one down side of interiors based on collecting and mixing can be overdoing it with too much stuff. "You can really become a hoarder without borders in no time flat," warns Ben. "So it's important to have an in and out process. You have to be able to let things go as much as you let things in." Ultimately, it's determining what you like and what you don't like. "For me, its not about creating rules for decorating," says Ben. "It's more about giving permission to define and refine your own taste."