Private Lives (1983)

After the critical and commercial triumph Elizabeth and producer Zev Bufman enjoyed with The Little Foxes, the two joined forces to form The Elizabeth Theatre Group. The idea was that, each season, the group would present three productions—one starring Elizabeth—that would be sold on a subscription basis and play limited runs on Broadway and in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Beverly Hills, as well as be recorded for TV.

For The Elizabeth Theatre Group’s first production, Elizabeth had a co-star in mind. She knew that audiences would flock to see her and Richard Burton together on stage. Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth was floated as a possible vehicle, but was quickly rejected because it didn’t have a suitable part for Richard. Then someone hit upon Noël Coward’s Private Lives. None other than the legendary playwright himself once suggested they do it. While the three were making Boom! (1968) in sun-drenched Sardinia, Coward told the Burtons that they were ideally suited to play the divorced couple who find themselves staying in adjacent hotel suites while on separate honeymoons in France.

“I don’t know whose idea it was this time—I think it was mine, actually—but the whole notion of Richard and me doing that play goes back to Noel,” Elizabeth explained. “He thought it’d be perfect for us.” Elizabeth described the once-married characters, Amanda and Elyot, as “two middle-aged people who, though miles down the road from their once all-consuming passion, still care deeply for each other”.

Elizabeth and Richard held a press conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel to announce their onstage reunion. As cameras incessantly clicked away, the two, taking questions from the media, resumed their familiar banter as if no time had passed at all. Asked if there might be more opportunities to act together after Private Lives, Elizabeth joked: “If I can con him into it.” “If she asks me, I don’t know,” Richard said with a laugh. Then, responding to what other productions they might tackle, Richard quipped, “I think we’re a bit old for Romeo and Juliet”.

The two were paid handsomely for Private Lives, taking home $70,000 each per week. John Cullum, who acted onstage with Richard in Camelot and Hamlet, was cast as Victor. Kathryn Walker and Helena Carroll would round out the cast as Sybil and Louise (Charlotte Moore would replace Kathryn Walker later in the run). While rehearsing the play in New York, Elizabeth was installed at old friend Rock Hudson’s apartment in the prestigious Beresford, with its unrivalled views of Central Park.

Elizabeth’s calculation proved correct. Private Lives quickly took in “$1 million in advanced sales.” Tryouts began at Boston’s Shubert Theatre on April 7. All performances were a sell out and Elizabeth and Richard received “at least five curtain calls” on opening night. But the road to Broadway was not without its challenges. Lou Antonio, who had directed Elizabeth in the TV film Between Friends, replaced Milton Katselas, who had been ill-suited to Coward’s sparkling, light as air brand of comedy.

Broadway previews began on April 28 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The Lunt-Fontanne was, of course, the site of the Burtons’ famous poetry recital, World Enough and Time, and Richard’s legendary Hamlet, both nearly twenty years earlier, in 1964. But any hope that Private Lives would match the success of those two endeavours, at least artistically, were soon dashed.

Opening night was chaotic, with the curtain finally rising thirty-five minutes late and the first intermission longer than the play’s first act. (The start of the show would often be delayed throughout its run as much of the audience was outside, waiting to catch a glimpse of Elizabeth’s arrival at the theatre.) The critics were merciless. “I think that in New York the critics got into some sort of contest to see who could be more clever and vitriolic,” producer Zev Bufman said. “I believe in the system of criticism and in 99% of the cases, if a show is blasted it deserves to be. But with Private Lives they went too far.” “It didn’t matter that we didn’t get good reviews,” Elizabeth said. “We still played to packed houses. No one was coming to see the English drawing-room comedy anyway. Everyone bought tickets to watch high-camp ‘Liz and Dick.’ And we gave them what they wanted. I wanted to stop, to put an end to this torture, but the contract had to be fulfilled.”

‍Private Lives ran on Broadway for sixty-three performances before hitting the road, playing Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles. It marked the final time Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton would act together in any medium, and it was Elizabeth’s last stage appearance for nearly a quarter of a century. It would take the cause closest to her heart to bring her back.