{"id":363574,"date":"2026-10-03T10:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T10:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/363574\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T10:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T10:24:16","slug":"5-delightful-details-from-the-fallen-angels-film-starring-kelli-ohara-and-rose-byrne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/363574\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Delightful Details From the Fallen Angels Film Starring Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne"},"content":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0Fallen Angels<\/a>\u00a0played on Broadway this past spring, it was the champagne toast of the town, receiving rave reviews and selling out\u00a0at the Todd Haimes Theatre. Not to mention its four Tony Award nominations, including two for lead actresses Rose Byrne<\/a> and Kelli O’Hara<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you missed this sparkling delight of a play, don’t worry. Fallen Angels\u00a0was filmed on Broadway, and the live stage capture will play movie theatres beginning October 22, courtesy of Trafalgar Releasing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Playbill has seen the film. On the screen, the\u00a0No\u00ebl Coward<\/a> comedy remains laugh-out-loud funny, especially with the benefits of close-ups\u2014letting audiences have a front-row seat for every pratfall, facial expression, and pitch-perfect line delivery. Whether you’ve never seen the Coward play or are debating seeing it\u00a0again,\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0the live stage film should be experienced in movie theatres. Here are five reasons why.<\/p>\n

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Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne in Fallen Angels
\n (Evan Zimmerman)<\/p>\n

1. The Hilarious Physical Comedy<\/p>\n

Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne look like they’re having the time of their lives (so much so that O’Hara told Playbill <\/a>she wanted to tour the show with Byrne in Australia). The two play longtime friends living in the 1930s, Julia (O’Hara)\u00a0and Jane (Byrne), who discover that their former lover is about to come in to town\u2014while their husbands are out of town. With each experiencing their version of the seven-year itch, this potential reunion with an old flame throws them both into a tizzy, and\u00a0many,\u00a0many\u00a0glasses of champagne to cope.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, that means the characters get\u00a0very\u00a0drunk, leading to moments that will have you bending forward with laughter.\u00a0Tony-winning musical theatre pro O’Hara gets to show off a whole new side of herself here\u2014it’s not just singing chops, she has\u00a0physical comedy chops, as she falls off chairs and\u00a0slides down them as well. In one moment, O’Hara tumbles head-first over a chaise, a feat of such athleticism,\u00a0you’re amazed she can do that eight times a week without injuring herself.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Byrne reminds\u00a0us that yes, she won a Golden Globe for a dramatic performance, but she is a comedy veteran\u2014very few actors can turn a\u00a0scarf or a tangled wig\u00a0into a physical comedy bit. Byrne’s\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0performance shows why we\u00a0all become obsessed with her after\u00a0Bridesmaids. The onstage hijinks reach such a pitch that at one point, O’Hara breaks character ever so slightly. We won’t tell you where, you’ll just have to watch the\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0film.<\/p>\n

2. That Committed Cast<\/p>\n

It’s not just Byrne and O’Hara who give stand-out performances in\u00a0Fallen Angels. The supporting cast is\u00a0filled with comedy powerhouse. There’s Christopher Fitzgerald, who made audiences guffaw in\u00a0Spamalot<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Company<\/a>, as Jane’s sweet husband\u00a0Willy; and comedian and former Daily Show correspondent\u00a0Aasif Mandvi<\/a> as Julia’s slightly clueless husband Fred;\u00a0and Mark Consuelos<\/a> as the dreamy former lover\u00a0Maurice Duclos.<\/p>\n

A particular highlight is\u00a0Tracee Chimo<\/a> (Bad Jews,\u00a0Noises Off<\/a>), who steals the scene as the outspoken maid Saunders.\u00a0On the screen, one can truly see, in the side-eyes that Saunders gives to Julia and Jane, this maid knows more than she lets on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When it comes to comedy, every beat needs to be precise in order for the laugh to land, and with the\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0cast, the audience is\u00a0in expert hands.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kelli O’Hara, Mark Consuelos, and Rose Byrne in Fallen Angels
\n (Joan Marcus)<\/p>\n

3. Gowns! Beautiful Gowns!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeff Mahshie<\/a>‘s costumes for Fallen Angels won a Tony Award and for good reason. For fans of 1930s-era shows such as\u00a0The Great Gatsby<\/a> or\u00a0Downton Abbey, Mahshie’s costumes are a visual feast. And the\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0film revels in every luxurious detail, from the swoon-worthy floral dressing gown with matching top that O’Hara wears at the top of the show, to the green silk evening dress held up with emerald clasps\u00a0that ripples and moves on Byrne like floating water.\u00a0Julia and Jane are wealthy women in the play, and Mahshie makes his lead actors look like a million dollars.<\/p>\n

Wigs are also an essential part of costuming, and Byrne’s wig in the latter half of the play is a character all by itself. Its reveal inspired cackles live in the theatre, and it will no doubt inspire similar reactions in cinemas\u2014maybe even more so because close up, audiences can really appreciate it in its tangled gravity-defying glory.<\/p>\n

4. The Ravishing\u00a0Details<\/p>\n

When you’re in a theatre, especially sitting a few rows back, it can be difficult to discern facial expressions and easy to miss crucial character beats. That’s not the case when viewing the\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0film, which truly gives you an intimate look inside\u00a0Julia’s lavish Art Deco apartment\u2014you can even hear the clink of the real glass champagne coupes!<\/p>\n

You can also appreciate the actors’ facial reactions, where the broad comedy allows for performances that can play in a Broadway theatre and be inviting when captured by a film camera. When Rose Byrne exclaims, “Don’t be so melodramatic!” one can see the teeniest glimpse of glee in her face, as she drops\u00a0character briefly, smiling and wiping her mascara-stained face. The\u00a0Fallen Angels stage film gives viewers a first-row seat to the action, letting us\u00a0take in every ravishing detail of the play.<\/p>\n

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Christopher Fitzgerald, Mark Consuelos, and Aasif Mandvi in Fallen Angels
\n (Joan Marcus)<\/p>\n

5. The Modern Observations About Marriage<\/p>\n

When one thinks revival of a play, the assumption is it’s going to be old-fashioned, something to laugh politely at. But this production of\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0invites audiences to laugh loudly, while showing\u00a0how modern and sexy\u00a0No\u00ebl Coward can be.\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0was ahead of its time, criticized by critics in 1925 as\u00a0“disgusting, vile and obscene,” for portraying its female characters as people with sexual needs and a wandering eye. But for an audience seeing it 101 years later,\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0is a relatable portrayal of contemporary marriage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Video: Rose Byrne and the Cast of Fallen Angels Discuss the Play\u2019s Scandalous History<\/a><\/p>\n

When Julia tells Fred,\u00a0“I love you too, you’re a darling, but we’re not\u00a0in\u00a0love,” with a close-up as\u00a0O’Hara gives a wry chuckle\u2014viewers of the film know that this exchange between the two\u00a0is setting the scene for everything that comes after. And it’s also an astute observation about what happens in long-term relationships, where people become roommates rather than lovers, and take each other for granted.\u00a0Coward knew to poke fun at that trope 100 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This makes\u00a0Fallen Angels\u00a0must-see viewing for\u00a0any long-term couple who may be getting too comfortable. So why not take a page from O’Hara and Byrne\u2014have some oysters, champagne, and make a date night out of\u00a0Fallen Angels.<\/p>\n

\"Fallen<\/p>\n