Noel Coward never came out as gay, but he never pretended to be otherwise. No mock romances or sham marriages. He crafted his own image for himself, and if it leaned toward the effete, it read as naughty sophistication. In his 1966 play A Song at Twilight, Coward took aim at an aging writer who has maintained a heterosexual persona even if others got hurt in the ruse. He played the role himself while stating it was a conflation of certain circumstances in the lives of satirist Max Beerbohm and writer Somerset Maugham. Whatever their sexual identities, all could pass themselves off, at the least, as non-homosexuals.
In John Fisher's portrayal of the fictional Sir Hugo Latymer, he comes across as an unconvincing burlesque ponce. With limp wrists flailing, mugging expressions, mincing moves, and oh-Mary inflections, this Sir Hugo couldn't pass for straight even at a meeting of the Franklin Pangborn Appreciation Society. While his fellow performers in this Theatre Rhino production are in reasonable accord with Coward's play, Fisher is in need of a stern director to steer him right. But, as is often the case with Rhino, Fisher is the director as well as a leading player, and the play winds up badly bent out of shape for it.
In A Song at Twilight, Sir Hugo and his wife Hilde are awaiting the arrival of actress Carlotta Grey, with whom, decades before, he had had an intense romance. They are mystified by why Carlotta would seek out her former lover after all these years. After gracious greetings all around, Carlotta reveals the reason for this reunion. She wants Sir Hugo's permission to use the love letters he sent to her for an autobiography she's writing, a notion he rejects out of hand. But she has an ace to play: his letters to the man who was the love of his life before abandoning him with particular contempt. Sir Hugo's hauteur quickly turns to horror at the thought of upending his public image.
This is when the production works best, as Fisher drops the faux-nelly posturing and finally becomes a believable character filled with fear and anger. Sylvia Kratins projects the right kind of swooping glamor as the fading film star, and Tamar Cohn brings welcome realism to the role of Sir Hugo's efficient wife. Marvin Peterle Rocha makes frequent appearances as a hotel butler, and does so with welcome old-school grace.
A Song at Twilight was an admirable late-career success for Coward, combining humor and drama with a touch of social daring. One can imagine his performance built around an insouciant charm, brusquely interrupted, that never pushed for laughs. But he also had the help of a director who didn't happen to be the same person.
A Song at Twilight will run through Jan. 31 at Z Below. Tickets are $15-$35. Call (866) 811-4111 or go to therhino.org.