Non-traditional casting adds a contemporary sensibility to Little Fish Theatre’s effervescent, sparklingly performed revival of Noël Coward’s 1925 comedy gem Fallen Angels.

The angels in question are longtime besties Julia (Samantha Barrios) and Jane (Claudine Pierre-Louis),  whose five-year-old marriages to fellow Londoners Fred (Tobit Raphael Capati) and Willy (Andrew Ge) have lost their initial luster, making it no wonder that the twosome react ever so excitedly to news that the Frenchman with whom each did some premarital dallying is on his way to London tout de suite.

Could it be that Maurice Duclos (EM Davis) intends to rekindle old flames, collateral damage be damned?

Jane suggests an escape to America, and has in fact shown up on Julia’s doorstep with suitcase in hand. Julia, on the other hand, is determined to “stay and face it,” and since Jane can hardly accept her friend’s “gallivanting around London” with Maurice while she goes into out-of-town hiding, the two women agree to stick around and “whatever we do, whatever we say, when temporarily unhinged by sex, afterwards, perfect friendship, and no apologies.”

All of the above is merely a setup for our two heroines, their husbands off golfing for the day, to spend the rest of the morning, afternoon, and evening getting steadily tipsier as they await the promised arrival of world-class Casanova Maurice.

Director Celia Mandela Rivera, who describes herself as “a Black Latinx/Caribbean director, actor, and creative disruptor,” might not seem the most logical choice to helm a frothy Cowardian romp.

Then again, Fallen Angels was hardly traditional theatrical fare when it debuted in London 101 years ago over the objections of censors who got their knickers in a twist not only over Julia and Jane’s premarital affairs but over the fact that adultery just might be on the frisky Brits’ evening agendas.

What better Coward play, then, to receive a 2026 makeover with a Latina Julia, a Black Jane, an Asian Fred, an Asian Willy, and a Trans/Non-Binary Maurice than Fallen Angels in a production whose 21st-century diversity only adds to its appeal and relevance for contemporary audiences.

Amusing as Fallen Angels is to read with such Cowardian witticisms as “Several drinks never do any harm. It is only the first which is dangerous. After that, the damage is done,” it’s on stage that the real magic occurs, particularly when you’ve got actresses as fabulous as Barrios and Pierre-Louis giving Lucy and Ethel and Laverne and Shirley and Patsy and Edina some tough competition where physical comedy is concerned all the while maintaining Coward’s trademark sophistication and style.

Whether mustachioed (Capati) or clean-shaven (Ge), Fallen Angels’ male members provide deliciously droll support for the wayward women in their prim-and-proper stiff-upper-lip lives.

Selena Price, meanwhile, gives us an Irish-accented Saunders (Julia’s freshly hired chambermaid) whose myriad past exploits (including jobs as a nurse, a barmaid, a missionary, and a chef) and talents (fluency in French among them) are made even more priceless when enumerated by someone who looks barely out of her twenties.

Last but not least, Davis’s out-of-this-world French lothario makes the suave-and-sophisticated Maurice’s eleventh-hour arrival well worth waiting for.

Scenic designer Michael Allen proves you don’t need a million bucks to create an elegant English living room set, a design enhanced by James Callaghan’s vibrant lighting and Branda Lock’s just-right period (and occasionally edible) props.

Add to that Diana Mann’s splendid array of 1920s costumes and you’ve got Little Fish’s best production design so far in their terrific new albeit temporary Redondo Beach home, and Doug Mattingly’s sound design is equally topnotch.

Fallen Angels is produced by Tara Donovan. Paula Vanlandingham is dialect coach. Ashley Weaver is stage manager and Leonora Burke is production prop assistant and assistant stage manager.

Fallen Angels may not have achieved the fame of Noël Coward’s Private Lives, Blithe Spirit, and Hay Fever, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of his funniest (and raciest) comedic treats, all the more reason to celebrate this fabulous Little Fish revival down Redondo Beach way.

Little Fish Theatre, 510 N. Prospect Ave., Redondo Beach.
www.littlefishtheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
April 26, 2026
Photos: Alex Moy

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: Little Fish Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review, Noël Coward