The Vortex

Reviewed by Terry Morgan

“We swirl about in a vortex of beastliness,” wrote Noël Coward in his 1924 drama The Vortex. True enough. While this story of selfish socialites being forced to acknowledge the effects of their actions hasn’t retained its scandalous reputation, the enjoyable new production at the Malibu Playhouse demonstrates that it still has emotional resonance.

Florence Lancaster (Shannon Holt) refuses to go gently into that good night, holding on to her youth and beauty with single-minded tenacity. Tom (Daniel Jimenez) is the latest in a long series of Florence’s lovers, although she’s still married to long-suffering David (Will Carney). Her friend Pawnie (Cameron Mitchell, Jr.) indulges Florence, although her best friend Helen (Victoria Hoffman) tries to talk sense to her. When her adult son Nicky (Craig Robert Young) returns home with a coke addiction and fiancée Bunty (Skye LaFontaine), however, the façade of her life begins to implode.

Holt’s Florence is bright and vivacious, conveying both Coward’s inherent theatricality and the angry, frightened person behind the glittering front. Though Young is good as Nicky, he emphasizes the character’s disintegration a bit early, lessening the final impact. Hoffman’ sympathetic, clear-eyed Helen complements LaFontaine’s cool, realistic Bunty. Jimenez, Carney and Mitchell capably round out the strong cast.

Director Gene Franklin Smith keeps the pace sprightly, which serves the show well, but his staging doesn’t take advantage of the large space effectively. His decision to set the play in 1965 doesn’t pay many dividends, except in one party scene where Nicky irritates everyone by miming along bitchily to “You Don’t Own Me.” Brian Primeaux’s costumes are impressive, from a selection of shimmering dresses to a loud velvet suit.

Malibu Playhouse, 29243 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through May 18. www.malibuplayhouse.org