Editing Lynn Fontanne (section)

===''Design for Living''===
[[File:Noel-Coward-in-jumper 1925.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Noël Coward]], 1925{{space}}photograph|alt=young, clean-shaven white man in neat, informal 1920s clothes]]
Fontanne and Lunt had been close friends of the English actor and playwright [[Noël Coward]] since they met in New York in 1921, before any of them had achieved success in the theatre. They had resolved then that when they were famous, Coward would write a play for all three of them to star in.<ref>Lahr, p. 73</ref> The Lunts' marriage was the subject of much conjecture in theatrical circles: although they were clearly devoted to each other, there were unsubstantiated but persistent rumours that Lunt was bisexual and had gay liaisons; there was also speculation that Fontanne had extramarital interests.<ref>Peters, p. 58</ref> Against this background, Coward wrote a comedy for the three of them, ''[[Design for Living]]'' (1932)'','' in which Fontanne's character switches back and forth between the two men, who then pair up when she deserts them both, before all three end up together.{{refn| Coward recorded that while he was refining his original ideas for the play, "Alfred had suggested a few stage directions which if followed faithfully, would undoubtedly have landed all three of us in gaol".<ref>Coward, unnumbered introductory page</ref>|group=n}} The combination of the risqué subject and the popularity of the three stars caused box-office records to be broken, and reportedly earned Fontanne and her co-stars the highest salaries paid on Broadway to that time.<ref>Hoare, p. 251</ref>

The immense success of ''Design for Living'' led Coward to write another play for his friends, but his ''[[Point Valaine]],'' in which Fontanne and Lunt starred in 1934, was a failure. Coward set out to write an uncharacteristically serious drama, but the grim plot and unsympathetic characters did not appeal to audiences used to seeing the Lunts in glamorous and romantic roles; Fontanne's prediction that the play would only run for a matter of weeks proved correct. It was the only outright failure of the Lunts' joint career.<ref>Hoare, p. 264</ref>