Blithe Spirit

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Is it a lark? Or just a private joke?

Then again, it is possible Charles Condomine, (Jamie Horton), really wants to know if Madame Arcati, (Kathleen M. Brady), an eccentric Medium, has the ability to communicate with the dead? Using the new book he is writing as a prop, he has invited her to conduct a séance to see if she can connect with his first wife, Elvira, (Jacqueline Antaramian). Along with his second wife, Ruth, (Annette Helde), he has invited friends Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, (Randy Moore, Robin Mosely) to witness the affair.

Charles has prepared himself for the onslaught, fielding jokes and barbs from everyone, as well as instigating several one-liners on his own. Using the book as a backdrop, Charles can easily slide off the hook. Under the barbed guise it is clear Charles misses Elvira, his memories of her are rich and he would like to have a legitimate connection with her.

Charles has a hard lesson to learn: Be careful of what you wish for. You just may get it, and what he wants and what he gets are two very different things.

Horton gives us an incredible look into a man of high wit and sharp tongue, who is highly polished in keeping his deepest wants a secret.

He has reason to keep thoughts secretive. Helde gives a wonderful reflection on a fussbudget, living on a high-tension wire, picking and prodding Charles to detraction.

Helde strikingly clarifies her character that is far from comfortable perfecting a dinner party. The memory of Elvira hangs heavy over Ruth’s head. She turns the maid, Edith, (Elizabeth Rainer) into a nervous wreck. Edith, wanting to please, wanting to be efficient, wanting to be in two places at the same time, managing most of the time to stumble over her own feet. Rainer is hysterical providing a perfect picture of over anxiety.

It would have been easy for Director Nagle Jackson to have Brady treat Madame Arcati as a caricature instead of playing it straight. By playing it straight, Brady allows the eccentricity speak for itself, revealing Madam Arcati’s legitimate insecurities and doubts. Brady is a marvel.

Moor and Mosely carry off the friend/guest roles to a tee, flowing with the barbs and repartee not knowing what to believe in the nervous confusion of the séance, much less how to respond to Charles and Ruth flying on their high tension wire.

Elvira indeed appears. Dressed in white, with Kevin Copenhaver’s Costume Design and Charles MacLeod’s Lighting Design, Elvira’s illusion reigns believable. She can move and speak. However, only Charles can see and hear her, which produces its own hilarity between Charles and Ruth.

Playwright Noel Coward wrote this brilliant piece in five days in the middle of World War II with bombs exploding around him. With the destruction of England, the people clung to hope, giving rise to a surge of interest in life after death. With Blithe Spirit, Coward not only fed their hopeful hunger, but also attempted to banish his own demons of anxiety.

Along with the crisp one-liners, and very funny scenarios this production provides its own fodder for thought about the connection between life and death, the rhyme and reason for war, how easy/difficult is it to determine if what we want, and say we want is right?

Coward’s play is a masterpiece in writing. The production is a masterpiece in faithfulness to the playwright. To delve further into Charles’ mind, no one even needs to write a book as a prop.

Exquisite material. Excellent production. A crime to miss.