‘Fallen Angels’ Review – A Respectable Recording of A Brilliant Comedy

Kelli O’Hara, Mark Consuelos, and Rose Byrne in Fallen Angels on Broadway | Courtesy of Joan Marcus and Trafalgar Releasing

Earlier this year, Noël Coward’s deliciously silly comedy of manners returned to the Broadway stage as the Roundabout Theatre Company produced a revival of Fallen Angels. Directed by Scott Ellis and starring Academy Award Nominee Rose Byrne and Tony Award Winner Kelli O’Hara, Fallen Angels follows a night in the lives of two friends as a figure from their past threatens to make a reappearance in their lives. Outrageously funny and surprisingly timely, Fallen Angels netted five Tony Award nominations and delighted audiences night after night. And now, with the help of BroadwayHD and Annette Jolles, Fallen Angels makes the jump to the big screen with a recording that highlights the play’s hilarity and Byrne and O’Hara’s showstopping performances.

An Immensely Funny Comedy of Manners

Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara star as Jane Banbury and Julia Sterroll, two upper-class housewives living in 1920s England. One day, while their husbands, Willy Banbury (Christopher Fitzgerald) and Fred Sterroll (Aasif Mandvi), are out golfing, Jane and Julia receive a letter that throws a wrench in their exceedingly normal lives. Years before they married their husbands, both women had brief but torrid affairs with the same Frenchman, Maurice Duclos (Mark Consuelos). And now, it seems, that very same man is on his way to England. Fearing a reunion with him may unearth feelings better left buried, Jane and Julia vow to weather the storm, whatever may come. And, as you might expect from a Noël Coward comedy, hijinks, scandal, and hilarity ensue. Fallen Angels is one of those plays that follows a pair of upperclass socialites as they ultimately reject politeness and restraint, and the results are utterly hilarious.

Like Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Fallen Angels borders on the farcical as Jane and Julia’s friendship tightens, unravels, and tightens again while the women try to convince themselves and each other that they’re not actually pining after this old paramour of theirs. It’s all just so deeply silly and unserious, even as it circles around ideas of what “Proper Society” permits women to do, even before they’re married, and how a woman can exist as her own person. And that’s the real joy underneath Coward’s plays. Funny as they are, there’s always a nugget of social commentary; a satirical look at society as a whole that grounds the play even as the antics and hijinks spiral further and further out of control. After all, isn’t that what a good comedy is for: shining a light on humanity while making us cackle uncontrollably?

A Pair of Breathtakingly Hilarious Performances

Jane and Julia’s friendship forms the scaffolding Coward builds the rest of the play on, and Byrne and O’Hara carry that weight brilliantly. Their performances here are both gut-wrenchingly hilarious and startlingly real. You immediately believe these are two lifelong friends, simply enjoying each other’s company. It’s that shared sense of camaraderie that makes the play’s harsher moments land all the harder. Of course, these two would know exactly what to say to hurt the other the deepest. And yet, you always get a sense of love and respect from Byrne and O’Hara’s performances. These friends love each other, even as they’re tearing each other to shreds. And honestly, there’s just something so fun about watching two world-class actresses acting as utterly unrestrained and ridiculous as they do throughout this play. They’d be a true joy to watch, even if Coward’s script wasn’t as good as it is.

A Respectable, if Unexciting, Recording

Directed for the screen by Annette Jolles, this new recording of Fallen Angels feels less cinematic than recent proshots like Hadestown: The Musical and Merrily We Roll Along and more like something you might watch on PBS—like last year’s excellent recording of Next to Normal. And there’s nothing wrong with that! Not every theatrical show demands a groundbreaking recording. Sometimes the best way to capture a piece of theatre is to preserve it as simply as possible, allowing the work itself to captivate and engage audiences. And that’s exactly what Jolles does here. Jolles expertly captures all the hijinks and hilarity in a way that gives it new life on screen while retaining the joy of watching it live. That there’s little specific about the recording itself to write home about proves to be less of a flaw and more of a virtue here.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve never seen a Noël Coward play, then this new recording of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Fallen Angels offers a perfect starting point. A gut-bustingly funny rejection of politeness, social norms, and high society life, Fallen Angels is an absolutely hilarious piece of theatre. Led by a pair of brilliant performances from Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara, you’ll laugh so hard you’ll cry all while gripping the edge of your seat as these two friends find new ways to dig deeper and deeper at each other. Though the recording itself isn’t necessarily anything groundbreaking, it nevertheless preserves the play in a way that will have you watching it again and again.

Fallen Angels opens in theaters nationwide on October 22nd.