When one thinks of the height of sophistication in mid-twentieth century British theatre, one word comes to mind: Coward. One conjures beautiful stage pictures of dashing, rich globetrotting couples tossing off cutting barbs while sipping powder-dry martinis. Coward is more than a style all of his own; he is, in a small, perfect way, style itself. When one produces a Coward play, one must either choose to embrace the stylized atmosphere and approach to the work, or one must add their own spin. Unfortunately, the current Theater Works production of Blithe Spirit under the direction of Sally Jo Bannow has decided to do both. When it is classy, it is fun. When it is brassy, it's hard to sit through.
Blithe Spirit is a bit of an anomaly in Noel Coward's repertoire, and that is all due to timing. The time is spring, 1941. World War II is a year-and-a-half old, and Germany has won most every battle. The casualties are mounting on the battlefields, and more importantly, in the English countryside, where German bombers are dropping bombs nightly, causing great damage to civilian sites. Mr. Coward wrote Blithe Spirit both as a pick-me-up for the war effort, and as an occult-ish salve. The British needed more than ever to be cheered up, while on a subconscious level, they also needed to believe that the neighbors, friends and relatives that the war has taken from them were still close at hand. In his use of a psychic who brings back the spirit a writer's dead first wife from beyond, the comedy becomes metaphysical. Psychologically speaking, Blithe Spirit was a comfort to a country that had known Death on a personal level for too long.
Ms. Bannow allows the parlor comedy to exist when Charles and Ruth, writer and second wife accordingly, grace the stage. It's even extended to include dinner guests Dr. Bradman and wife. Things acceptably slip off kilter when the spirit of Charles' first wife, Elvira, makes her appearance, but become unrelentingly slapstick when maid Edith and mystic Madame Arcati are front-and-center. With this wild a swing between styles, the comic elements are undercut, and some of the author's original intentions are quashed.
The performers' work succeeds and fails this way accordingly. Writer and second wife Jason Barth and Julie Cotton start off wonderfully, as they banter drolly. This is punctuated by annoying visits by the manic maid Kathi Osborn, looking unnecessarily odd in thick bottle-bottom glasses, as she is allowed to overwhelm the charm with an overstated goofiness that comes more from dinner theatre than Coward. The charm returns somewhat, though, with the visit of the Bradman's, solidly portrayed by Scott Connelly and Jan Ryder. All goes back to slapstick with the entrance of the over-the-top, clichéd, imprecise, and monotonously ranting Madame Arcati (Doreen Pritts) who plays so far into the nutty psychic-type that all of the good lines and situations disappear with their obviousness. Finally, straddling the two camps, Andi Watson's ghostly Elvira can sometimes be cattily playful in her interchanges with the living, and at others simply felinely drapes herself on the furniture in an acquiescence to slapstick.
Despite some errors during the run, the design elements are solid. T.J. Weltzien's set seems to have encountered the same schizophrenia as the show's performance element, with an overall solid look balanced by a silly red light for the fireplace and an obviously director-driven entryway to the house that is not only unnecessary, but actually distracts from the onstage proceedings. Timothy C. Slope's costumes generally work well, although Ruth's final outfit does not rate equally with Elvira's. Scott Campbell's lighting is successful, though John Jones' sound design is less so. Johanna Carlisle's hair and make-up is a hit-and-miss proposition, with most looking good, but Edith looking like a disheveled scarecrow, and Elvira appearing to be an Ace Frehly look-alike from KISS.
Can Coward be played slapstick? Perhaps. This production does not provide adequate proof of it, though. This is an evening of theatre that has some definite entertainment value, and many moments when the audience wishes for something a little less pandering.
Production Details:
Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
Theater Works,
Peoria (For a map to location, click this
link)
(623) 815-7930
June 8th - 24th, 2001