Review: BLITHE SPIRIT at The Belmont Theatre

The Belmont Theatre's annual October offering is Blithe Spirit, a classic comedy about marriage and the ghosts of the past. Paul Lajkowicz stars as fuddy-duddy mystery author, Charles Condome. In order to gain inspiration for his next book, he invites a fortune teller over for a séance, and that is when things start to go wrong. Joining Charles is his second wife, Ruth, played by Georgie Reardon. Reardon portrays Ruth with constant grumpiness and frustration. Through vivid facial expressions, her frequent scowls convey her dour mood effectively.

Along for the ride are friends, Dr. George Broadman (Rodney King) and his wife, Violet (Claudia Shanaman). Both actors provided adequate support despite lengthy dialogue and some opening night jitters.

Priscilla Jarrell was amusing in her role of Edith the maid.

Sheryl Rade was very well cast as the quirky Madam Arcati. Rade is a welcomed character actress on the Belmont stage and is very skilled in making her roles extremely interesting and unique. Her costumes, speech, and actions all worked together to highlight her eccentricities and humor.

Speaking of speech, although the show was set in England, there seemed to be inconsistent effort among the cast to use a British accent. I wasn't sure why.

The breakout star of the show was Belmont newcomer, Laura Scott-Wise. Scott-Wise stars as Charles' first wife Elvira, brought back from the dead during the séance gone awry. Scott-Wise is bubbly , energetic, and sassy. She brought a great deal of welcomed vibrancy and energy to the stage every time she appeared.

This leads into my problem with the show...it is long. Running time is about three hours with 2 ten-minute intermissions. It is also a very dialogue-heavy show. The combination of these two factors makes it drag at times. Director, Joel Persing might consider punching up the humor a bit more to help with pacing.

All in all, Blithe Spirit is a fluffy night of Fall entertainment. Tickets and more information can be found on the theater's website.

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