Blithe Spirit (City Lights)
Mar 23 – Apr 23, 2023 (San Jose)
We saw City Light’s production of Noël Coward’s classic 1940s play, Blithe Spirit, on April 15.
About the play
Blithe Spirit is a 1941 farce written by the English playwright, composer, and actor Noël Coward.
The story features novelist Charles Condomine and his second wife, Ruth, who host a dinner party in order to invite an eccentric medium, Madame Arcati, over to conduct a séance to provide Charles with some ideas for his novel. The spirit of his first wife, Elvira, who had died seven years before, materializes (only seen by Charles), and all sorts of trouble ensues in the household. Dinner guests Dr. Bradman and his wife, along with a maid who turns out to be a medium, round out the cast of characters.
The play originally opened on the West End in 1941 and ran for a record-setting 1,997 performances for a non-musical play in London (a record later surpassed by The Mousetrap in 1957), and did well on Broadway later that year, running for 657 performances. It’s been revived many times, including a notable Broadway revivals with big stars, including a 1987 production starring Richard Chamberlain as Charles, Judith Ivey as Ruth, Blythe Danner as Elvira and Geraldine Page as Madame Arcati; and a 2009 Broadway revival with Rupert Everett as Charles, Jayne Atkinson as Ruth, Christine Ebersole as Elvira, Angela Lansbury as Madame Arcati (who won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the role) and Simon Jones as Dr. Bradman.
Locally, SVCT staged productions of the play in 1980, 1990 (featuring Marion Pintello, Carol Harris, and Rosalind Farotte) and again in 2003 (with Rosalind Farotte, JoAnna Evans, and Carol Harris)
About the production
This was the first time we’ve seen a production of it, and we all enjoyed City Light’s version, finding it very funny and well acted.
Cast:
Edith: Skylar Rose Adams
Ruth: Maria Marquis
Charles: George Psarras*
Dr. Bradman: Kyle Smith
Mrs. Bradman: Roneet Aliza Rahamim
Madame Arcati: Lisa Mallette*
Elvira: Georgia Ball
Directed by Mark Anderson Phillips
Scenic Designer: Ron Gasparinetti
Lighting Designer: Ed Hunter
Highlights:
Wonderful set (designed by Ron Gasparinetti) filled with tons of details. The special effects at the end (don’t want to spoil them) worked perfectly into the design.
