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46th St. [[Double line]] Title: A VIEW FROM THE AUDIENCE by Howard Schneider Drawing Room Comedy Considering my background, my passion for drawing room comedy probably seems rather odd. After all, I was born and raised in the Bronx and Queens, and so one might reasonably think that my taste in the theatre would run to Arthur Miller's proletarian dramas or to Odet's hardboiled urban tragedies. But, no: Ever since I saw a not-too-great production of The Importance of Being Earnest back in my college days, I've cherished the likes of Noel Coward and Frederick Lonsdale, William Congreve and William Wycherley (the latter two wrote marvelously pungent Restoration comedies that were the precursors of the contemporary drawing room comedy). The latest overhyped musical leaves me cold, but I'll happily shell out the cash for a full price orchestra seat at Private Lives or Aren't We All? What is it about this distinctive theatrical genre - a genre often dismissed as minor or frivolous - that beguiles me so? In brief, drawing room comedy, in its gently unnerving way, is a superb medium for exploring the absurdities and enigmas of real life. Absurdities? you're probable asking. Enigmas? But aren't drawing room comedies notably smooth and serene? Yes - but only on the surface. The quintessential drawing room comedy scene, of course, depicts a couple of beautifully dressed swells teasing each other with witty verbal sallies. It's all very urbane. Very fastidious. But beneath the polished surface, a war is usually raging, a war rooted in the most basic emotions: love, jealousy, pride, sexual attraction, hatred. When these are woven by one of the genre's talented playwrights around society's other great obsessions - money and status - the result can be a play more moving and profound than many dramas that are supposedly more "realistic" and self-consciously literary. Heavy-handed realistic dramas show off their motives and intentions in every scene. But the art, the essence, of a drawing room comedy lies in the deftness and subtlety with which its author orchestrates his characters' volatile emotions. Nuance is all: Each well-turned phrase, every mot, speaks volumes. And isn't life itself like that? Our daily lives - at home, at work - are filled with mundane social rituals that embody our deepest fears and desires. We behave politely and with decorum, but our slightest gestures are charged with meaning. Our everyday conversation is dry, even banal, but underneath the platitudes is a fierce emotional undertone. However, the great thing, the inspiring thing, about drawing room comedies isn't that they merely "reflect" life. What I really love about them is that they suggest a manner, a style, with which to confront life's many weird moments and its fantastic cast of characters. For instance, wouldn't crises be far easier to cope with if one always faced them impeccably garbed in perfectly-tailored tweed suits, suits that radiate civilized sang-froid? And wouldn't it be splendid to banter with friends, enemies, lovers, in a cultivated Oxbridge accent? Oh, to be endlessly inventive and clever like a character in a drawing room comedy! What a figure one could cut on the great stage of life. The elegance one could muster, the aplomb, the class! A theatrical genre that can inspire such satisfying fantasies should never be belittled as minor or frivolous. I dare say that the philistines who can't appreciate the riches of drawing room comedy are probably the same benighted individuals who complain that Pirandello is too cryptic and that Chekhov is dull. [[line] Have you ever had an experience (funny, sad, enlightening) in the theater, which has had a special meaning for you? Submit your manuscript (700 words or less) to PLAYBILL, Dept. 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