Image from www.noelcoward.com

Rating: 5 out of 5 masks

One of the funniest plays I’ve ever seen.

Written by Noel Coward, Blithe Spirit tells the story of Charles Condomine who invites a psychic to his dinner party with the intention of using the experience for his next novel.  Unfortunately for him, the psychic, played by Angela Lansbury, has just resurrected the spirit of his first wife.

I liked how the set looks like a real house.  You could tell when the play is set when they have a record player and call it a gramaphone.  I liked how tasteful the house looks, nothing ostentatious about it.  I only wish the play took place in the other rooms as well.

I really liked the costumes, especially Elvira’s.  I liked how the cloth draped around her like she was ethereal and how Christine Ebersole played it up.  It wasn’t until a character died (I won’t say who) did I realize that the white was the costume designer choice to differentiate between the characters who were alive and those who were dead.

I thought the acting was great.  It was not over the top at all, which I guess is possible with a comedy.  I paid more attention to the scenes when Elvira was around to see if the other characters acknowledged her presence and was glad when they didn’t (well, some of them anyway).  I thought Angela Lansbury’s performance was one of the best I’ve seen.  I have to say that my favorite character was the maid.  I loved how she walked around in a hurry until she was reminded to go slower and her reaction to the ghost was priceless.

Overall, I thought this play was really good.  I only wish I could hear more of the words over the laughter of the audience.  But hey, that’s not a bad complaint for a show to have.

Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes w/intermission