The current Broadway production of Noel Coward's antic comedy of marital relations beyond the grave, Blithe Spirit, directed by the master-of-timing and comic business Michael Blakemore, with the brilliant, zany, powerful actress/comedienne Angela Lansbury as the medium who connects with the "other" world, is one of the most entertaining theatrical evenings in town. For me, there is a flaw, though. The fast-talking Rupert Everett is tall, handsome and sometimes incoherent, and Coward's wit is blurred by the speed of some of his delivery and his dropping of final consonants. As Alfred Lunt said, "The secret of Acting is: say your lines loud and clear, and don't bump into the furniture." I guess Everett has done a few too many movies.
He's a contrast to Jayne Atkinson, playing his wife, who is loud, clear and convincing. Christine Ebersole as the ghost is a beautiful, effervescent star actress who lights up the stage and the theater. And when Lansbury does a "take," the whole theatre laughs - she's a master of the reality of a comic character. It's rare to have two performers of this caliber of acting and comedy on a stage at the same time, and it's a delight. Plus - there's a third: Susan Louise O'Connor as the maid is a great physical comedienne.
Both Simon Jones and Deborah Rush are just right as participants. Martin Pakledinaz's costumes, eccentric for Lansbury and properly misty and floaty for Ebersole, are perfect, as is the set by Peter J. Davison, lighting by Brian MacDevitt and sound design by Peter Fitzgerald. If you want to see a sophisticated, stylized comedy of the highest level, laugh and feel lifted by its amusements, go to Blithe Spirit. Coward is the wittiest of the witty, and if you miss Ms Lansbury's performance, you do it at your peril. She's a treasure.
L-R: Simon Jones, Deborah Rush and Angela Lansbury
