Paranormal threesome is a timeless, biting dark comedy and as funny as it was 85 years ago
Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit is a very spirited twist on a British parlor comedy and has not lost any of it's humor, bite, or turn-on-its-head twisted parable 85 years later based on audiences at Le Petit Theatre opening weekend.
Plot
Author Charles (Vatican Lokey) and wife Ruth (Ashley Santos) open the play in the final minutes before hosting a dinner party, with newly promoted housemaid Edith (Bethany Lee) doing her best—which isn't saying much—to juggle her new responsibilities. The couple's guest list includes Dr. and Mrs. Bradman (Kyle Daigrepont and Ashley Smetherman Lemmler) and psychic spiritualist Madam Arcati (Ricky Graham), with the purpose of learning her charlatan ways of duping naive people so Charles can include her fake methods in his latest book.
Things go sideways when Madam Aracti proves to be the real deal and conjures up Charles' deceased "much more beautiful" first wife Elvira (Jessie Terrebonne)—only visible to Charles. The reunion is much to Elvira's amorous joy, Ruth's threatened dismay, and Charles' delight—very comfortable with the supernatural three-some.
Anyone who has seen any of the hundreds of films, plays, and TV shows that have been inspired by this trailblazing plot over the past 85 years knows things will get frantically funnier as more madcap mayhem unfolds. Especially on the two wives—one with the seemingly clear advantage of being alive—battle it out for their bewildered husband's affection.
Cast
Everyone in the cast channels the show's proper Downton Abby era well, and as Coward's sardonic lines fall off their lips, the patrons' laughter often is at the timeless irony of his biting wit—and in the realization that some truths, and even more beliefs, have not changed over the decades.
Terrebonne as Elvira (in case it wasn't clear where the famed Goth girl TV host derived her name from) delivers a wonderful performance channeling the rapid-fire dialogue with an era-appropriate accent.
Santos' Ruth seems to take a back seat in the awkward thruple, but it's a Coward signature bait-and-switch as she is allowed to have more stage presence—and clearly fun—in Act II.
Graham, who also doubles as director of this production, easily steals the show anytime the character's clunky shoes take the stage. With hilarious antics that would go unnoticed in the French Quarter but are dramatically out of place in 1940s upper class England, Graham is worth the price of admission.
But do not underestimate Lee's housemaid Edith chewing the scenery, especially during intermission. Throughout the intermission, her character attempts to clean the house with only the remaining audience as witness to her time alone in the house. A little lagniappe for those not needing the bathroom break.
Afterlife
This timeless dark comedy was created during a dark time to keep people spirits up by laughing in the dark when Britain was deep into World War II. Not surprisingly, the film version became an international blockbuster when it was released in America after the U.S. joined the fight. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit is at Le Petit Theatre through Sunday, January 25.
