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Blithe Spirit
Reviewed by Jenny Lower
Ahmanson Theatre
Through Jan. 18
RECOMMENDED:
Much like its titular character, Noel Coward’s jaunty comedy about the ghosts of deceased spouses debuted ages ago (1941) yet retains its staying power. Penned in one week (according to the Ahmanson’s program notes) and mounted on London stages a month later, the play held the West End record for 1,997 performances, until The Mousetrap unseated it. Today, Coward’s script feels less relevant than some of his other plays, but that quibble hardly matters. Starring the incomparable Angela Lansbury reprising the role that won her a Tony Award in 2009, this otherwise unremarkable staging directed by Michael Blakemore presents the Dame of the British Empire at her finest.
Charles Condomine (Charles Edwards), a novelist working on a new manuscript and his second marriage, commissions a local medium to hold a séance as research for his book. Both he and his coolly unflappable second missus, Ruth (Charlotte Parry), view the eccentric Madame Arcati (Lansbury) as a loon, until her trance summons the spirit of Charles’ dead first wife Elvira (Jemima Rooper). Plagued by one wife and unable to reassure the other that he’s not losing his mind, Charles struggles to extricate himself while reconsidering his romantic entanglements.
Lansbury is riveting in her scenes, with a vivid comic sensibility that makes the rest of the show feel comparatively dull. Under Blakemore’s direction, the emotional ups and downs of the characters flatten under an aristocratic smoothness. Edwards is amiable and winning, but not much more. Parry’s irritation at the predicament registers as minor ripples, and Elvira’s alleged magnetism is less beguiling than bratty. But Susan Louise O’Connor has some very funny bits as the Condomimes’ inept maid Edith, and Simon Higlett’s handsome set has some tricks up its sleeve in Act 2.
For audiences heading to the Ahmanson, however, Lansbury is the draw, and she does not disappoint. At 89, she is more energetic and enjoyable than ever.
Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Dwntwn.; Tues.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 1 & 6:30 p.m. (added perfs Dec. 22 and 29, 8 p.m.; Dec. 23, 2 p.m.; no perfs Dec. 24-25, and Jan. 1); through Jan. 18. (213) 628-2772; www.centertheatregroup.org
