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Becky Diehl |
Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit is a comedic play about a man haunted by the spirits of his deceased wives. Seth Panitch (Charles) is the husband who is both playful and selfish at times. Dianne Teague (Madame Arcati) is a delightfully eccentric character that is charming, enduring, and entertaining. Emily Etheridge (Elvira) is the first deceased wife who causes mischief while plotting to kill her husband. Stacy Searle (Ruth) is the second deceased wife who reacts in predictable volatile ways to the situation she has found herself in. Sadly the play began quite slowly. It wasn’t until halfway through the second act that it started to really get going and become really funny. At first there were a few funny lines but not a lot of humor and unfortunately a major chunk of the audience left at intermission. The second act moved a lot more smoothly and didn’t seem to drag on as much. The concept of the play was really funny, but it didn’t always come across quite the right way. The play was in an effect saved by the acting of Teague. She was by far the funniest character on stage but unfortunately all the other actors paled slightly in comparison and didn’t quite measure up to the standard that she set. She did a good job of making ordinary moments special. The set was quite good and had a lot of fun quirks to make it seem haunted especially at the end of the show. The costumes were very well chosen and even small details were considered. It was a very nice touch that after the wives died their dresses were both grey. The lighting was also very good. It was an effective tool that added to the movement of the plot. Overall the play didn’t quite live up to the hype. It wasn’t bad but it was just average and not as humorous as I thought it would be. |
