Blithe Spirit-Coward Classic Spooks Boca's Caldwell

BLITHE SPIRIT

Noel Coward Classic at the Caldwell Theatre

A novelist planning to write a book about a homicidal clairvoyant hosts a dinner party and séance with close friends and an invited spiritualist who conjures up the host's first wife's spirit. But only Charles can see and hear her. See how the current wife, Ruth, overreacts to her husband's "hallucinations;" watch Madame Arcati's attempt to get rid of the ghost, Elvira, and see how Charles copes with his chaotic home life. A classic comedy by The Master.

The Playwright: Born Noel Peirce Coward in Middlesex, England on December 16, 1899, he started acting at the age of 12 when Sir Charles Hawtrey, a Victorian actor and comedian, took young Noel under his wing as an apprentice. Noel wrote over 50 plays and acted in many of theml. This Happy Breed and Present Laughter , both written in 1939, along with Blithe Spirit (1941) were staged in 1941 at the same time in London's West End, and Coward starred in all three simultaneous presentations .

Sir Coward tackled subjects not widely dealt with in polite society during the early 1900's: drug abuse in The Vortex (1924), free love in Sirocco (1927) and England's class system in Cavalcade (1931). And yet he was widely sought-after by royalty, producers, the intelligentsia and celebrities. He was a huge talent who delighted in scandal but appreciated the value of publicity.

Coward's Blithe Spirit takes its name from the first line of Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ode to a Skylark:" Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!/Bird thou never wert – /That from Heaven or near it/Pourest thy full heart/In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

The Cast : Dennis Creaghan (Charles Condomine), Jacqueline Knapp (Elvira), John Felix (Dr. Bradman), Angie Radosh (Mrs. Bradman), Margery Lowe (Edith), Elizabeth Dimon (Madame Arcati), Laura Turnbull (Ruth Condomine). Directed by Michael Hall

Blithe Spirit • Dates: December 30, 2005 – February 12, 2006

BLITHE SPIRIT TICKET PRICES : $32.50 & $41.50. NEW YEAR'S EVE @ 5PM & 9PM , tickets $36.50 & $44.50. Previews: $28 & $32.50: December 30, January 3-5. Opening Night Gala: $44.50 on January 6.

Evening performances Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8PM with select Sunday performances at 7PM . Matinees: At 2PM on Wednesdays, Sundays and select Saturdays. Student Rush tickets are available for $7.00, 15 minutes prior to curtain with a valid full-time student ID and class schedule, based on availability. Call Box Office at 877-245-7432 or 561-241-7432. Group rates also available.

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