An Academy Salute to Noel Coward -- Coward on the Coast

To enter the Academy Headquarters and visit the gorgeous Samuel Goldwyn Theater, audience members must first pass through a security check (no cameras/recording devices, no food or drinks -- not even water -- are allowed in the theater.) The Goldwyn Theater is on the second floor of the AMPAS building; Star Quality is on the fourth floor, which meant lots of elevator trips for the masses of people who wanted to see everything.

Star Quality: Extended Hours
From 6:00 to 7:30 pm, an entranced crowd viewed the Exhibition in the Fourth Floor Gallery, while Stephen Fry and actors from L.A. Theater Works prepared downstairs for their performances.

Stephen with LATW

L. to R. Matthew Wolf, Sarah Zimmerman, Stephen Fry, Juliet Mills, Susan Sullivan, Michael Gladis, Jobeth Williams. Photo courtesy of AMPAS.

Stephen Fry, Host

The Goldwyn is an impeccably clean, elegant, well-proportioned theater -- all wine-red curtains and velvet ropes with an awe-inspiring screen that dwarfs the approximately 12-foot tall figures flanking the stage: replicas of the Oscar statuette known round the world. It was enormously gratifying to see a capacity crowd of 1,000 patrons filling the theater.

AMPAS Director of Exhibitions and Special Events Ellen Harrington introduced actor, author, wit, and Coward Society Vice President, Stephen Fry, who gave a detailed, personal, sincere, and hilarious introduction to the life and works of Noël Coward.

Stephen next introduced a video of his recent interview with 100-year-old British film legend, Ronald Neame, who worked with Coward on many projects, including as writer for three of the films presented during the weekend: Brief Encounter, In Which We Serve, and Blithe Spirit. In the interview, which took place just a few days before the screening, Neame's most controversial comment was that The Master was not a good film actor -- too stiff. (On Saturday, many viewers of In Which We Serve strongly disagreed.)

L. to R. Oscar®, Stephen Fry.
Photo courtesy of AMPAS.

Sketches by L.A. Theater Works (LATW)

After the video, Stephen introduced L. A. Theater Works, described the live recording process for which we were the live audience, and gave tips on laughing heartily and distinctively so you could hear yourself when you later listen to the recording.

Directed by Brendon Fox, LATW actors presented wonderful comedic readings of two sketches, Design for Rehearsing and Age Cannot Wither, both of which are included in Barry Day's The Noël Coward Compendium (available now in the U.K., coming this autumn to bookstores in the U.S.A.)

Design for Rehearsing
Coward's Design for Rehearsing pokes gentle fun at the creative process and perpetually dramatic personalities of Coward himself, Lynn Fontanne, and Alfred Lunt as they rehearse for the 1933 debut of Design for Living. The characters evoke Gary Essendine in Present Laughter, who is "always acting, always watching myself go by."

Design cast

L. to R. Michael Gladis (Alfred), Sarah Zimmerman (Lynn), and Matthew Wolf (Noël). Photo courtesy of AMPAS.

Age Cannot Wither
Coward's last, unfinished work Age Cannot Wither (begun in 1967) depicts a reunion of three 60-ish school chums, boozily reminiscing while waiting for a luncheon that never materializes. Who knew that pondering life and death could be so funny?

Wither cast

L. to R. Juliet Mills (Naomi), Susan Sullivan (Judy), and Jobeth Williams (Stella).
Photo courtesy of AMPAS.

About LATW
Founded in 1974, the mission of L.A. Theatre Works is to enrich the cultural life of our national community through the use of innovative technologies to produce and preserve significant works of dramatic literature on audio, and to assure the widest public access to these great works.

Contact them at 310-827-0808 or through the LATW web site

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Cavalcade (1933)

An Evening with Noël Coward culminated with the 1932/33 Best Picture winner Cavalcade, based on Coward's smash 1931 London theatrical production. Friday night's audience - including a good number of entertainment professionals - gasped at the notion that the cast for the stage play was 400.

From the moment the film began, the audience was most appreciative, applauding wonderful performances, scenes, and songs during the film, as well as cheering for individual names while the credits were rolling.

Coward himself was pleased with the film; in 1941, he commented, "Of all my plays only one, Cavalcade, has been filmed with taste and integrity." It was most fitting and pleasing to view this dazzling restoration (print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive and Twentieth Century Fox) in the elegance of the Goldwyn Theater.