Snee, Plum, and St. George Make 'Blithe Spirit' Blissful

Blithe Spirit

Written by Noël Coward, Directed by Spiro Veloudos; Set Design, Brynna Bloomfield; Costume Design, Charles Schoonmaker; Lighting Design, Scott Clyve; Sound Design, Arshan Gailus; Production Stage Manager, Nerys Powell; Assistant Stage Manager, Cat M. Dunham; Dialect Coach, Bryn Jameson

CAST:  Sarah deLima, Mrs. Bradman; Anne Gottlieb, Ruth; Paula Plum, Elvira; Richard Snee, Charles; Kathy St. George, Madame Arcati; Anna Waldron, Edith; Arthur Waldstein, Dr. Bradman; Songs performed by Leigh Barrett, accompanied by Jonathan Goldberg

Performances through June 6 at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston                                          Box Office 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com

Aspiring playwrights, take note of the Noël Coward chestnut that Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos is presenting to conclude the season at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston. First staged in 1941, Blithe Spirit remains a delightfully witty romp through the minefield of relationships, earthly and otherworldly, and offers a smorgasbord of delectable bon mots flawlessly served up by the assembled cast of master chefs. As evidenced by its numerous revivals in both London and New York, and its film and television adaptations, this is a play for all seasons and all mediums.

There is neither a wasted word in Coward's script, nor any wasted actions in the freewheeling, yet carefully orchestrated movement of men, women, and ghosts on the postage stamp Lyric Stage. Nearly every inch of that stage comes into play, with entrances and exits from the aisles, billowing curtains, upstage double French doors with a mind of their own, and other assorted supernatural events. You can imagine Veloudos on a virtual podium waving a baton, à la the sorcerer's apprentice, directing his charges to move about in the midst of the controlled chaos, never missing a beat in the playwright's rhythmic patter.

As Veloudos himself says in his program notes, "What a cast!" It was a stroke of genius to pair real life husband and wife Richard Snee and Paula Plum as the debonair Charles Condomine and his flighty late first wife Elvira. Their yin and yang match seamlessly, but Snee also manages to create wonderful chemistry with Anne Gottlieb who plays his more staid current wife Ruth. When Elvira's ectoplasm materializes following a séance conducted by the eccentric Madame Arcati (Kathy St. George), Charles finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He must try to explain his bizarre behavior to Ruth, who cannot see the ghost, as well as sort out his feelings about the return of Elvira.   

Along for the wild ride in the supporting roles are Arthur Waldstein and Sarah deLima as the unflappable Dr. and insipid Mrs. Bradman, invited to fill out the table for the séance, and Anna Waldron (in her Lyric Stage Company debut) as the neophyte maid Edith. She doesn't have a lot to say, but displays some impressive mime skills and is very amusing when she runs in and out of the parlor, to her mistress's chagrin. St. George is colorful and enchanting as she conjures up a scene-stealing performance. These delicious characters populate Coward's sophisticated 1930s world which is lovingly realized by Charles Schoonmaker's divine costume design, Brynna Bloomfield's set, Scott Clyve's lighting, and Arshan Gailus' sound design. Credit goes to dialect coach Bryn Jameson for helping all of the actors to maintain solid British accents throughout. The Noël Coward music (and "Always" by Irving Berlin) featured in the play is melodiously sung by Leigh Barrett with accompaniment by Jonathan Goldberg.   

Blithe Spirit is performed in three acts and runs two hours and forty-five minutes, but you're likely to wish for the intermissions to pass quickly. Time is not the only thing that flies at this show - watch out for crashing flower vases, ethereal wives, and disembodied laughter. Coward's classic comedy haunts the Lyric Stage through June 6^th - don't be afraid, go!

Photo credit: Mark S. Howard (Sarah deLima, Richard Snee, Kathy St. George, Anne Gottlieb, Arthur Waldstein)

 

 

  

 

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.