Sir Noel Coward (1899 – 1973), who wrote “Blithe Spirit,” was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer known for his wit, flamboyance and what Time magazine called “a …
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Sir Noel Coward (1899 – 1973), who wrote “Blithe Spirit,” was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer known for his wit, flamboyance and what Time magazine called “a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise.”[/caption] by Hugh Hunter
Noel Coward long wanted to write a ghost story. Composed in the shadows of World War II, “Blithe Spirit” (1941) is full of bantering language and fantastical events. Now running at Stagecrafters, it is a classic comedy that spoofs marriage even as it blurs the line between life and death.
Novelist Charles invites a séance master, Madame Arcati, to his house party for the mocking amusement of all. But the practical joke turns serious (funny for us) when Arcati manages to materialize Elvira, Charles’ deceased first wife.
To play Madame Arcati, director Joe Herman turns to Stagecrafters favorite Pierlisa Chiodo Steo. It is a role to die for, and Steo shines with her costume (Jane Toczek), fantastical dance and sure comic timing.
With his foppish head nods, Josh Keiter’s Charles is also quite the cock of the walk, keeping aloof with his supercilious gibes. But Charles is the only one who can see taunting Elvira, and she knocks him off his stride.
On opening night, the stage itself became a star. A few props in Charles’ opulent house malfunctioned, not an unusual production occurrence. Here, the miscues were so miraculously apt that they drew the biggest laughs. Director Herman may want to consider not “fixing” these mistakes.
Dr. Bradman (Mark Grayson) and Mrs. Bradman (Susan Mattson) flesh out the dinner party, furthering the portrayal of marriage as hopelessly mundane. Marisa Block plays Edith, a deferential house maid with just a hint of the perky. These minor characters set the stage for what becomes a ludicrous love triangle.
Two strikingly different women vie for Charles’ affection. Cathy Gibbons Mostek plays Ruth as practical, humorless and class conscious. Mare Mikalic’s Elvira comically sweeps about the house with a surface ditziness she uses to flaunt her indifference to the feelings of others. Charles delivers one of the better lines in the play, calling her “morally untidy.”
Yet you are always happy to see Madame Arcati return to the scene. Her conjuring of the dead brings life to the play because she alone is authentic. More than just a comical eccentric, she truly believes in the worth of séance, throwing the shallowness of all the others into sharp relief.
In his plays Noel Coward continually returns to the theme of insubstantial relationships, especially marriage. In “Private Lives,” for example, a married couple only yearn for each other after they divorce. Coward may not be the best person to hold forth on this subject; by most accounts, he was notably prudish in his own relations.
Coward’s wit is equally clever and formulaic as characters constantly talk past each other. But his best scripts give a theatrical troupe plenty of opportunities. “Blithe Spirit” is an amusing work with a plot that keeps you guessing, and the Stagecrafters production makes the most of it.
Stagecrafters is located at 8130 Germantown Ave. “Blithe Spirit” will run through April 29. Reservations at 215-247-9913.
