Milwaukee Chamber Theatre ends their 2015-16 season with ‘Fallen Angels’

It’s 1925 London, and Jane and Julia are the best of friends, each happily married for five years. Or are they?

When the two women learn a mutual former flame will be paying a visit, they both turn everything upside down in their efforts to win him for herself. Fallen Angels is a comedy by Noël Coward perfectly suited to wrap up Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s 2015–16 season.

It’s also perfectly suited for the two MCT veterans cast to portray Julia and Jane: Kay Allmand and Beth Mulkerron. While the two characters share similarities that drive the plot — both are high-class London sophisticates and both had premarital flings with Maurice (Matt Koester) — the actors say they’ve been working to develop their characters’ differences.

“Jane’s a silly girl,” explained Mulkerron in a recent phone interview. “She’s a little silly and can be a bit a of a pushover. She has a great heart at the end of the day though.”

On the other hand, Allmand says, “Julia’s the leader. She can be a little bossier, like a big sister. She’s the one in charge but it’s obvious how much she really cares about her friend even as they bicker and fight over this old flame.”

As the action continues throughout the play, a sort of waiting game emerges. Anticipating Maurice’s arrival, both women are instead introduced to other interesting and peculiar characters. It’s a premise that requires a keen grasp of comic timing, which is more difficult to achieve than it’d seem.

“Comedy is more difficult than drama,” says Allmand. “You have the same world created that you do in drama and you have to make it just as real. You have to commit to it fully and that can be harder as you also can’t take yourself too seriously in a comedy.”

Yet despite the challenges, Allmand says she’s found Fallen Angels to be a special sort of show. “The show sheds light on some of the universal truths that we also face,” explains Allmand. “We all fall in love, fall in love with a passion, are challenged in what drives us. It’s all of these things that make us who we are. All of these things are part of Fallen Angels.”

“It’s a special piece,” adds Mulkerron. “We realize that people have limited budgets when they want to go to shows, and it’s hard to attend everything. This is one those shows that is worth every cent.”

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of Fallen Angels runs April 14 to May 1 at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. Tickets range from $15 to $40, and can be ordered at 414-291-7800 or milwaukeechambertheatre.com.