In Kent, England, as research for a book, writer Charles Condomine (Rupert Everett) has invited one Madame Arcati (Lansbury), a medium, over for a séance. Also at the gathering are Charles' second wife Ruth (Jayne Atkinson) and their friends Dr. Bradman (Simon Jones) and his missus (Deborah Rush). Both couples believe mediums to be complete frauds and the intent of the séance is to observe Madame Arcati’s various forms of trickery, which Charles will then use in his story.
However, much to Charles' surprise, not only is Madame Arcati the real thing, she also conjures up the ghost of his dead wife Elvira (Christine Ebersole)—a spirit only he can see and hear.
It quickly becomes apparent Charles and Elvira's marriage, while very passionate, was not always pleasant, with infidelities and physical altercations in the mix. Still, Elvira's love for Charles is as strong as ever and she soon decides he should join her in the afterlife. However, her attempts to kill him don't go exactly as planned, instead catching other members of the household in the cross fire. As things progress, events quickly spiral out of control, forcing a desperate Charles to enlist Madame Arcati to put things right.
In this wonderful comedy of manners, Coward seems to be saying don't pooh-pooh people and their lifestyles until you get to know them, and don't meddle in things unless you're prepared to pay the consequences. While some parts of the script seem a bit dated, all in all, the show holds up quite well.
Michael Blakemore's direction is good, if a bit too leisurely, especially at the beginning. Granted, much of the first few scenes are one long setup to what is coming next, but it might have worked better if played a bit faster, instead of taking the time to savor each moment and line.
While Madame Arcati is in her element here, Charles finds his nicely ordered world becoming messy. Everett is enjoyable as he goes from an outwardly calm and respectable member of society to a sort of blithering idiot, while trying to mediate a conversation between his two wives, with Ruth only hearing one side of the conversation, believing her husband is going mad. Even when Ruth finally accepts the reality of Elvira's existence, any attempts at a reasonable discussion come to naught as the two women see each other as rivals for Charles' affections. Yet while Charles has no desire to go back to Elvira, he begins to wonder if he really wants to stay with Ruth, as Elvira's appearance has awakened in him memories and desires long forgotten.
Atkinson is okay in the role of Ruth, but never really makes the role her own. The actress is quite believable as a quiet, middle-aged woman, but we never really get to see what makes the character tick. While Ruth obviously despises Elvira for what she is doing to her life, she never fights for Charles as passionately as she should, with the character becoming more of a plot device than a flesh and blood persona.
Ebersole works well as the ethereal Elvira, at first enjoying her return to the physical world, but soon realizing it is all a crashing bore. Flighty and with little regard for the consequences of her actions, Elvira is diametrically the opposite of Ruth, with the two women (both domineering in their own way) representing the different extremes in Charles' life. Elvira also reminds one of a spoiled child—who can cause a lot of trouble.
Jones and Rush are okay, although other than a few good lines here and there, their roles are pretty much only to fill out the seats at the séance table and give Charles and Ruth someone to talk to in order to move the story along. Susan Louise O'Connor is quite fun as the Condomine's fleet-of-foot maid, in a small but pivotal role in the story. (Her final line and Charles' reaction to it is priceless.)
Technical credits are fine. Peter J. Davison's set design is nicely functional, as is Brian MacDevitt's lighting design. Not top drawer Coward as presented, but there's still a lot of fun in this "Spirit," with Lansbury's performance definitely not to be missed.
Blithe Spirit
Sam S. Shubert Theatre
225 West 44th Street
Tickets: 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com
Running Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Open run
