Design for Living
The following description was submitted by the event organizer.
It’s 1933, and polyamory is all the rage, at least it was on Broadway thanks to Noël Coward’s risqué drawing room comedy in which boy loves boy loves girl. Witty? Of course. Banned in England? Yes, that too. But Coward’s frothy farce is more than a ménage à trois of brilliant banter. Design for Living is also a celebration of embracing one’s true self, regardless of society’s conventions and sexual norms. Indeed, the play may be Coward at his most outrageously self-affirming, even if the characters do come dressed in silk pajamas.
The cast will feature recent Imago alum Joe Cullen (Salomé) alongside company newbies KJ Snyder and Caitlin Rose as the play’s central throuple with Sean D Lujan (The Seafarer, Hughie, Salomé) as Ernest and Diane Slamp (Salomé) as the unkempt maid Miss Hodge. The design team will include Jerry Mouawad with Notion and Jim Peerenboom on scenic design, Laura Helgeson on costumes, Samantha Kemp on lights, and Myrrh Larsen on sound design.
“The supporting cast is superb,” says Mouawad, who spent a solid six months finding his performers. The line-up will include Imago regulars such as John Sidney Berendzen (Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen), Sam Gordon (My Bedroom Is an Installation), and Merehuka Manurere (A Streetcar Named Desire, Salomé). Actors Brittainy Mather and Pearson Kunz will make their Imago debuts. Mouawad directs.
Design for Living – Champagne Kisses from a Kinky Love Triangle, at Imago Theatre
This show is for mature audiences.
“… a bubbly concoction with a pleasing aftertaste thanks to Coward’s gift for infectious dialogue.” — Hollywood Reporter
“All you need is an extra-dry martini and an ironic smile.” — The Chicago Reader