What could possibly be better than an evening of ghosts chasing around uppity British folk? The Barnstormers latest production, Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, is full of just that. Coward wrote the show in 1941, to inject some much needed levity into his life during what he described as one of the toughest weeks of the WWII. The play deals with a middle-aged writer (played by Jason Maur) who, in the interest of gathering information for his book on mysticism, holds a s??ance together with his wife (Leah Miller) and friends (Jerome Fox and Anjana Muralidharan). While they all take the affair rather lightly, the consequences soon prove more serious than any had imagined. Madam Arcati has conjured up the spirit of Charles' old wife, Elvira (Michelle Lefisko), who is intent on regaining the love of her husband, and forces him to question his relationship with his new wife.
Opening night started off with a rather stiff dialogue between Maur and Miller. Easing slowly into the performance, they seemed to be reciting their memorized lines rather than committing fully to their characters. Once Madam Arcati (Ben Kingsland) trots "her" way onto the stage in high heels and conjures up some mischief, the play really hit its stride, with the rest of the actors feeding off Kingsland's wild energy. The rest of the show is rather uneven -- the jokes are funny and the performances engaging, but Coward's play has surprisingly little else to offer.
Maur does an adequate job carrying the lead role of Charlie, a man confused by the actions of the play and his feelings toward his two wives. While he is visibly torn over which of the women to devote his attention to, Maur's performance lacks the emotional weight necessary for the audience to care. His enunciation suffered slightly from a forced British accent which caused him to trip over a few lines, though not enough to weaken an overall convincing performance.
Miller was effective as the pursed-lipped, terse and irritated Ruth, who struggles in coming to terms with her husband's affection for his pseudo-deceased wife. The character, though, comes off as rather one-dimensional, and Miller could have benefited from even just a hint of compassion under her bossy demeanor.
Michelle Lefisko is a wonderfully coy and seductive Elvira, eager to regain her husband's affection and pry him away from his new wife. Dressed in what looks like a pink ballerina costume, Lefisko dances around the stage playfully, toying with Charles' emotions.
Kingsland is delightful as the manic Madam Arcati. His scrawny figure is so horribly ill-fitted for a woman character that the audience roared with laughter at his very arrival on stage. Costume designer Jillian Saperstein must have had a ball choosing Kingsland's outfits -- his hairy legs gave him away despite flowy dresses and high-heeled shoes. For those audience members who have been to previous Barnstormers productions, Kingsland's energetic exuberance comes as no surprise, though perhaps here it could have been slightly curtailed. Kingsland is at his best when he holds back just a little, coyly suggesting that there is quite a bit more under the surface. Certain words were spontaneously shouted for comic effect -- entirely unnecessary for what is already an overly flamboyant character. Rounding out the cast are Jerome Fox and Anjana Muralidharan as Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, and Maura McTague as the flustered and flitty housemaid, Edith.
Kudos to set designer Kay Starr for the most elaborate and intricate set in recent Barnstormers history. The elegant living room is filled with small paintings, a grandfather clock, chandeliers, old books, a Picasso print and a lovely couch -- plopped right in the middle of the first row. While coming off as a clever technique, the production loses more than it gains with the director's decision to involve the audience so intimately, as the amused expressions of audience members sitting in the first row is distracting. Equally unnecessary was the decision to include underscoring in the more intense moments of the show; if the scenes needed more of a punch it should have come from the acting, and not music. Technical director Nathaniel Jones provided for a wonderful surprise at the end that I'll let you discover on your own.
For the most part, the actors did what they only could with Coward's material, which, unfortunately, was not nearly interesting enough to carry a two-and-a-half hour show. Aside from situational humor, any successful comedy has to have either an emotional anchor, or enough tightly packed jokes to make us forget we want one. Blithe Spirit has neither, and while the second act is sprightlier and quicker in pace, the whole show relies too heavily on the audience's willingness to trudge through the unfunny parts. In his director's note, Troy Miller writes: "The play, at first glance, seems to be a comedy. Yet it does have some darker underpinnings." If Blithe Spirit has a serious undertone, it is buried far beneath the floorboards, and beyond reach of this production.
