Blithe Spirit

Gratuitous Violins rating: *** out of ****

The final performance of Blithe Spirit on Broadway occurred while I was in New York, so I didn't have a chance to write my review. But for the sake of blog posterity I thought I'd mention a few things about it anyway.

Written by Noel Coward and first produced in London's West End in 1941, Blithe Spirit centers around novelist Charles Condomine, who has a seance conducted at his home as research for a book. The spirit of his deceased first wife, which only he can see, is summoned, much to the dismay of Charles and his current wife.

Rupert Everett played Charles and Jayne Atkinson was his wife Ruth. I'll admit I thought Atkinson seemed too old for the part - before I realized she and Everett were so close in age! Maybe it had something to do with her hairstyle. Christine Ebersole was the flirtatious Elvira. And Susan Louise O'Connor made me laugh as Edith, the Condomines' timid maid.

This was the second production of Blithe Spirit I've seen and I had the same reaction both times: I enjoyed it but it's not one of my favorite plays - just a little too upper crust and well-mannered, a little stilted and creaky. The novelty of Elvira upsetting everything wore off after awhile. I don't know, maybe I'm simply not a big Noel Coward fan.

Still, what made the experience memorable and thrilling was a chance to see Angela Lansbury portray the wacky medium Madame Arcati, in the role that won her a fifth Tony award.

It's pretty remarkable - I've only been a regular Broadway theatergoer since 2007 and in that time, I've had two chances to see Lansbury. I was enthralled watching her and Marian Seldes in Deuce, where they played two retired tennis pros looking back on their career.

And now, I've had a chance to see some of her remarkable comic timing, which I love so much when I watch her Mrs. Lovett on the Sweeney Todd dvd. It's those comic touches as she moved around on stage that brought Blithe Spirit to life.

Catching up on theatre TV

The only time I watch The View is when they have Broadway-related guests. Otherwise, I'm not really into the banter. But this week featured a great lineup. You can watch the interviews here.

On Thursday, the guest was Angela Lansbury, currently appearing as the medium Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit. Miss Lansbury looked wonderful - so fit and full of energy. "I love being back on stage again," she said. "It gives me a tremendous lift and it's made me feel not my age - which you probably all know." I do, but I'm not going to tell.

Then today, Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon, the royal couple from Exit the King, made an appearance, walking into the studio looking appropriately regal in their floor-length robes. It was hilarious, and what a great way to promote the play. "We had to wear them today," Rush explained, "because Susan and I are both deeply method actors." Although Rush's crown did look like something they hand out at Burger King.

And Theater Talk took a road trip from New York to visit the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Since I made my first trip to the Guthrie in September, to see the Little House on the Prairie musical, it was neat to learn a little bit more about its history from artistic director Joe Dowling.

A highlight: Getting to see the backstage area where the sets and costumes are put together. This video shows how the Guthrie craftspeople made the individual stalks of wheat for the Little House on the Prairie set.

"It's all illusion"

This was a very nice surprise in my Sunday Parade magazine: an interview with Angela Lansbury! Here's what she has to say about her role in the Broadway revival of Blithe Spirit, with Christine Ebersole and Rupert Everett, which begins previews Feb. 26 at the Shubert Theatre.

"I had no intention of coming back to work, only of coming back to New York to enjoy the city as a part-time resident," said Angela. "But my agent called, saying, 'They're interested in having you play the psychic, Madame Arcati.' I'm a bit long in the tooth [83], but that's the great thing about the theater - it's all illusion."

Here's a link to the interview, by James Brady, and a slideshow of Ms. Lansbury through the years. And you can take a 50-question movie musicals quiz here.

Angela Lansbury back Broadway - again!

I can't believe I'm going to have a second chance to see Angela Lansbury on Broadway!

Ponder this: she's away from Broadway for nearly 25 years, returns in 2007 - the very same year I attend my first show on Broadway - and now is about grace the New York stage again, for the second time in two years. Coincidence?

I loved Lansbury and Marian Seldes in 2007's Deuce, where they portrayed former professional tennis players looking back on their lives. What terrific conversation! What memorable characters! Deuce is simply one of the most enjoyable experiences I've spent at the theatre. It was 90 minutes of pure joy and I could have listened to them talk for another 90 minutes.

And now comes word that Lansbury will join British film actor Rupert Everett and Christine Ebersole in a revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, which begins previews in February. I was on the fence about this one. I saw a production of Blithe Spirit earlier this year and while it was good, it didn't quite grab me.

But Angela Lansbury changes everything. She'll play Madame Arcati, the psychic who conducts a seance at the home of a novelist, played by Everett, who hopes to use it as material for a book. Arcati ends up summoning the spirit of his late wife, who will be portrayed by Ebersole.

In addition to Blithe Spirit, 2009 will bring the Broadway premiere of the new musical 9 to 5, on the heels of its Los Angeles tryout. Plus, revivals of Hair, Guys and Dolls and West Side Story. Plus, two more play revivals: David Hyde Pierce in Accent on Youth and Matthew Broderick, whom I've never seen on stage, in The Philanthropist.

Toss in a couple of new plays and I'll be very happy. I probably won't get to see the political play Farragut North, with Chris Noth and John Gallagher Jr., off-Broadway, so I'm crossing my fingers that it'll transfer. I'd love to see Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen in Michael Jacobs' play Impressionism, described as "the story of a world traveling photojournalist and a New York gallery owner who discover each other and also that there might be an art to repairing broken lives."

Okay, I know we're not even through fall yet, but I think there's quite a bit to look forward to on Broadway in the spring. (In my next life, I definitely want to come back as a New Yorker.)

Can Ebersole lift Broadway's spirits?

The first cast member has been announced for next spring's Broadway revival of Noel Coward's 1941 farce Blithe Spirit, about a socialite haunted by the ghost of his first wife. Christine Ebersole has snagged role of sexy Elvira, who causes all sorts of mischief after a seance summons her from the spirit world. The first preview is scheduled for Feb. 26.

I'm usually pretty excited when I hear about plans for a new Broadway show, but I was pretty indifferent about this one. I saw Blithe Spirit earlier this year at Trinity Rep. While it was a fine production, it left me bored at times. A little witty banter goes a long way, after all. Or perhaps, drawing-room comedies simply aren't my cup of tea.

Now, I like Christine Ebersole and I'm sure she'll be great and her participation piques my curiosity. Maybe she'll bring a spark to the play that I felt was missing in the production that I saw. But what would really put this on my list of must-see shows is that according to Variety, Angela Lansbury (and Rupert Everett) are on the producers' wish list.

No offense to Mr. Everett, but I loved Miss Lansbury's performance in Deuce, not to mention that she's my favorite Mrs. Lovett of the three I've seen on stage and screen. I'd jump at the chance to see her on Broadway again. Although, I thought she said Deuce would be her last Broadway role, so I'm not really holding out any hope.

But the larger question is - why another revival? I wish the producers had found a new play they wanted to bring to Broadway. So far, things are pretty slim: To Be or Not to Be and Dividing the Estate, which begins previews Oct. 23. I checked Playbill's list of upcoming shows, and there's Neil LaBute's Reasons to be Pretty and Michael Jacobs' Impressionism. (With Jeremy Irons!) Am I missing something?

Okay, I understand, it's hard to attract investors - and an audience - for a new play, especially a drama, especially at a time when Wall Street is imploding. Perhaps Blithe Spirit's humor, which helped raise the spirits of the British people during World War II, is just the thing Broadway needs right now.

Blithe Spirit

I'm a pretty ardent Anglophile, I loved Upstairs, Downstairs and Gosford Park, so I was looking forward to Trinity Repertory Company's production of Blithe Spirit. It was my first time seeing a Noel Coward play, and I imagined there'd be lots of people who sounded like the royal family, lots of dry British humor. While this production looks and sounds beautiful, I have to admit that the play simply wasn't as funny as I thought it would be.

When I walked into the theatre, the lavishly detailed 1940s set certainly looked like what I'd imagined. Designer James Schuette has done a wonderful job filling the stage with brocaded furniture, leatherbound books, a gramophone in one corner and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There's jazzy-sounding music playing and a painting that looks like a Picasso is hanging above the mantle. This is a home that oozes refinement and artistic sensibility.

When the play opens, Charles and Ruth, the upper-class couple whose drawing room we are in, are about to have a dinner party. There's lots of banter between the couple, played by Angela Brazil and Fred Sullivan Jr., including about Charles' late first wife, Elvira. The highlight of the evening will be a seance conducted by the mysterious Madame Arcati. Now, Charles doesn't necessarily believe that you can summon the departed from the spirit world, but he's a novelist and hopes the experience will provide fodder for his new book.

One of the funniest moments in the play comes when their guests, Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, played by William Damkoehler and Cynthia Strickland, arrive. Strickland nearly steals the show. She speaks in a high-pitched, rather snooty sounding voice. And costume designer William Lane has dressed her in a pink evening gown that makes her look, as one review described, "like a frosted cupcake." Wish I'd thought of that line.

Barbara Meek's Madame Arcati has a bohemian look about her, wearing a long, flowery skirt and blouse, lots of jewelry and a scarf around her head. It would be easy to make her appear, well, crazy. But Meek plays her as a woman who truly believes in her ability to summon the departed as she matter-of-factly goes about the preparations for the seance. And sound designer Peter Sasha Hurowitz has come up with some great effects.

At first, the seance doesn't appear to be a success, but lo and behold, Charles' first wife, Elvira, played by a very funny Phyllis Kay, comes in from the garden, through the French doors. She's not in a hurry to leave, either, lounging around the drawing room, making catty comments and doing her best to disrupt Charles' current marriage.

Much of the humor in Blithe Spirit comes from Charles' amazement and horror at seeing his dead wife reappear, realizing that he's the only one who can see and hear her, and trying to figure out a way to get her to return to wherever she came from.

Kay is great as Elivra - she's sexy and flirtatious. And Brazil is a good comic actress. I loved her shocked reaction as a vase that Elvira is holding appears be floating through the air. When Ruth finally realizes that Charles isn't mad, that there really was someone else in the house with them, someone she couldn't see or hear, it's one of the funniest moments in the play.

But despite the usual wonderful performances, the beautiful costumes, detailed set, some great one-liners and a very funny ending filled with terrific special effects, Blithe Spirit left me a little bored at times. The novelty of Elvira being in the house and upsetting everything wore off after awhile. There were times when I just got tired of the talk. A little witty banter goes a long way. Curt Columbus' direction is snappy enough. I don't think it's the production, I think it's the play. Maybe it was just a little too upper crust and well-mannered for me, a little stilted and creaky.

Now, I realize that I'm probably in the minority on this. Everyone else around me seemed to be laughing hysterically and having a great time. Maybe I was worn out from my New York trip the previous weekend or maybe I was feeling a little tired. Maybe I've just gotten used to dialogue that's more biting, less polite. I don't know. It could be that drawing-room comedies simply aren't my cup of tea.