"quadrille"

(L to R) Brian Aherne, Lynn Fontanne, Edna Best, Alfred Lunt

On May 18, 1951, Noël wrote in his diary, “I want to do a Victorian comedy for Alfred and Lynn, if only I can get a good enough idea. We discussed it ad nauseum.” He later wrote, “Quadrille … is a romantic Victorian comedy which the critics detested and the public liked well enough to fill London’s Phoenix Theatre for a year.”

Although the London critics were cruel, the American reviews were a bit kinder. One critic wrote, “This may not be Mr. Coward’s best play, but it is better than most of our other dramatists could contrive.” Another wrote, “This is Mr. Coward in a gentle mood, nostalgic and romantic. Although the play is peppered with brittle cowardisms, it is never caustic or sophisticated. It is a gentle joke, quiet and warm, and most of the time, very amusing.” Alfred Lunt was particularly complimented on the scene in which his character, an American railwayman, explains with passion the beauty of the vast reaches of America. A Boston critic wrote, “It is the kind of scene you wouldn’t expect an Englishman to be able to write.”

Noël’s letters are filled with the enthusiasm of Coward, the Lunts, and designer Cecil Beaton for the play, although later letters from the Lunts express concerns.

From Cecil Beaton (1952): “I am utterly enchanted by Quadrille.  It has the charm, the wit and frivolity of The Importance of Being Earnest and is more mature and tender than anything you have ever written.”

From Noël to the Lunts (1954): “I have tried, hard, to think of ways of improving it and, so help me God, I can’t really think of anything.”

From Lynn (1954): “We love you and believe your honesty and know if you say so that it is impossible to re-write or improve the first scene.”

Alfred Lunt won the 1955 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Quadrille, which he also directed. It was the last time the Lunts would appear in a Noël Coward play.

Fifteen years later, at the 1970 Tony Awards, the Lunts were presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens. Noël Coward was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Cary Grant. Appropriately, Tammy Grimes won the Best Actress in a Play Award for her performance in a revival of Private Lives.