Grins, giggles, guffaws are materializing at The Rogue Theatre, which opened Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit,” Saturday, Nov. 9.
Coward (1899-1973) had a wide repertoire: He was playwright, composer, director, actor and singer. “Blithe Spirit” is one of his famed “comedies of manners”— cerebral comedies that usually satirize the behavior of the upper classes.
The Rouge Theater turns its blackbox stage into the upper-crust English home of writer Charles Condomine (Ryan Parker Knox), and his second wife Ruth (Bryn Booth). They are served by fleet-footed maid Edith (Erin Buckley).
To gather background information for Charles’ new book, the martini-drinking Condomine invite friends Dr. and Mrs. Bradman (Matt Walley and Carley Elizabeth Preston) to join eccentric, bicycle-riding clairvoyant Madame Arcati (Cynthia Meier) for an after-dinner seance.
The seance is a lark and a curiosity for the two couples as Charles hopes to discover the trickery and jargon of contacting the other side. Madame Arcati peddles away feeling that the seance had failed.
However, the medium — or was it Charles? — unwittingly conjures up Charles’ annoying first wife, Elvira (Holly Griffith). (Elvira is pronounced “Elveera,” not like the woman who set the Oak Ridge Boys’ hearts on fire.)
Charles is the only person who can see or hear Elvira, the specter. Though Elvira died seven years prior, the apparition wants her man back and she mischievously inserts herself into Charles’ life. Mysterious accidents raise Ruth’s suspicions about Elvira’s dangerous intentions and Madame Arcati can’t figure out how to return Elvira to the other side.
Booth, Griffith and Knox nimbly handle Coward’s lush language and rapid repartee. The three weave conversations that build conflict and touch upon sensitive subjects like manipulation and the realities of love. Charles’ responses to Elvira are misunderstood by an offended Ruth and the trio of actors ramp up the chaos and confusion without tripping on Coward’s dialog.
Director Joseph McGrath aptly moves the trio around the stage creating uncomfortable, laugh-inducing setups from Ruth’s inability to see Elvira. Booth’s and Knox’s perfectly timed facial expressions are precise and comical.
Preston’s Mrs. Bradman has both wide-eyed wonderment about the possibilities of the seance and narrow-eyed glare that keeps her husband buttoned up. Walley’s doctor is a grounding character who is ready to bust open.
Buckley brings a sweet innocence to the maid who can’t slow down or speak softly, and Meier gives delightful performances as over-the-top Madame Arcati who speaks to child spirit Daphne and is ready to slip into a trance. All of the actors seem to enjoy delivering their lyrical lines and using British snubs like “guttersnipe” and “hagridden.”
Rogue has a magical musical touch. Coward calls for a gramophone to play Irving Berlin’s “Always” during the seance scenes of “Blithe Spirit.” Musical director Russell Ronnebaum plays the piano and a cast member turns Rogue’s “one-of-a-kind, custom-built, record scratching emulation device” to create the ambience of gramophone music wafting through the room.
Ronnebaum creates creepy, eerie sounds on the musical saw, which is a handsaw played by a violin bow. The audience can see the musical action through a thin curtain.
“Blithe Spirit” is packed with surprises and promises to lift spirits. You may leave the theater haunted by or at least humming “Always.”
