Review
Blithe Spirit
Samuel S. Schubert Theatre
March 10, 2009
Morgan Wycks
mwycks@nyconstage.org
Blithe Spirit, Noel Coward's improbable farce, has many things going for it in the current Broadway revival. If the play resolves itself rather clunkily by its final curtain, there is still a lot of fun to be had up until its last half-hour.
For those who don't know the play, Charles Condomine writes mysteries and his latest involves a medium and the astral planes that those of that ilk investigate. For research, he and his second wife, Ruth, have invited a clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to perform a séance for them. Also invited are Charles's doctor and his wife, the Bradmans. As the séance progresses, Madame Arcati accidently summons Charles's dead wife, Elvira, who will not and cannot leave the premises. To add to Charles's consternation, only he can see and hear Elvira. Well, you can just imagine how this situation makes a farce out of life and death.
Assembled for this piece of escapist fun is a top-notch company. First is the director, Michael Blakemore (Noises Off, Is He Dead?) who knows what farce is and how to achieve the right balance of truth and ridiculousness. As Ruth, a role that many actresses would probably think secondary and not necessarily comedic, the amazing Jayne Atkinson steals the show, that is, only when Angela Lansbury as Madame Arcati is not on stage. Ms. Lansbury is the kind of pro who can incorporate the shakiness of knowing her lines right into the role while using it to her advantage by keeping those around her on their toes. It's a role she was born to play. As for Ms. Atkinson, she finds the laughs and lands them in only the way the best straight-men know how and also gives the rather stern Ruth a heart. As Charles, Rupert Everett perfectly brings a Cary Grant suavity to the proceedings, and like Mr. Grant did in the movies, plays frustration for all the laughs he can get. If he too trips over his lines now and then, he recovers with urbane professionalism. Although I did not care for Christine Ebersole's choices for Elvira, the actress nevertheless is consistent and a worthy adversary for the living. I've always thought of Elvira as a spoiled but cleverly manipulative smarty-pants as opposed to a wrong-side-of-the-tracks floozy who's come into money which is how Ms. Ebersole appears. Also on hand for a lovingly funny debut is Susan Louise O'Connor as the Condomine's dimwitted maid.
As stated at the top of this review, Mr. Coward knows he must find a clever conclusion to this dashed off whimsical nonsense but you can feel that he's painted himself into a corner and you can sense that the actors are in the corner with him. I have no doubt that as they get more settled, this fine cast will escape that corner with a great deal of panache so that the last half-hour flies by as fast as the rest of the show.
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