Norwich Theater Company brings ‘Blithe Spirit’ to the stage
NORWICH – The spotlight’s set to shine on the Norwich Theater Company as cast and crew bring their rendition of “Blithe Spirit” to the Martin W. Kappel Theater at the Chenango Arts Council in Norwich starting tonight.
Hailed as genius in some respects for its tragicomedy approach, “Blithe Spirit” has been a crowd pleaser since its stage debut in 1941. It tells the story of Charles Condomine (played by Nick Tyler), a somewhat snobbish writer on a quest to write his next big book. Hoping to gather material for his book, Condomine invites a socially awkward medium, Madame Arcati (played by Donna Moren), to his home to conduct a séance. He also invites a socialite couple, Dr. George Bradman and his wife (played by Larry McMaster and Ericka Tyler) along for fun.
But Condomine’s scheme to use Madame Arcati’s offbeat ways is turned around when she summons the ghost of his first wife, Elvira (played by Jenn Winslow) who isn’t happy about her husband’s marriage to his second wife, Ruth (played by Liz Burgess), and does what she can to interfere.
In spite of the conceivable gloominess of mixing death and comedy, the mood of the play is often lightened by the graceless conduct of the Condomines’ maid, Edith (played by Tess Markham).
“This is such a wonderful story, and we have such a wonderful cast,” said play director Carolyn McMaster.
Having been a cast member in a previous production of “Blithe Spirit,” McMaster’s no stranger to the production. She praised the style of playwright Noel Coward, who uses a combination of comedy and calamity to give the play a clever viewpoint on life.
“He is a master at using words,” McMaster said. “It’s a comedy and it’s hilarious in many spots, but it also has some very poignant thoughts. For instance, ‘The time is approaching,’ and Madam Arcati said ‘Maybe it’s receding.’ Noel Coward throws in those thoughts to stir up the idea that things shouldn’t be accepted at face value. Maybe there are other ways to look at things. Maybe our world doesn’t really act the way everyone thinks it does.”
“Many of the actors in this show have done shows with us before, but we do have some new cast members this time around,” said stage manager Mary Kuhn. “They have all worked very hard, and they’re just chomping at the bit to have an audience to show off their work.”
“Blithe Spirit” is the Norwich Theater Company’s penultimate production of the 2014-2015 season. On August 21-23, members will bring “The Music Man” to the stage.
Tickets for “Blithe Spirit” are still available for $12 each on the Norwich Theater Company website, www.norwichtheatercompany.org, and at Service Pharmacy in Norwich. Show times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Martin W. Kappel Theater, 27 W. Main St., Norwich. Cost for admission is $14 at the door.
Hailed as genius in some respects for its tragicomedy approach, “Blithe Spirit” has been a crowd pleaser since its stage debut in 1941. It tells the story of Charles Condomine (played by Nick Tyler), a somewhat snobbish writer on a quest to write his next big book. Hoping to gather material for his book, Condomine invites a socially awkward medium, Madame Arcati (played by Donna Moren), to his home to conduct a séance. He also invites a socialite couple, Dr. George Bradman and his wife (played by Larry McMaster and Ericka Tyler) along for fun.
But Condomine’s scheme to use Madame Arcati’s offbeat ways is turned around when she summons the ghost of his first wife, Elvira (played by Jenn Winslow) who isn’t happy about her husband’s marriage to his second wife, Ruth (played by Liz Burgess), and does what she can to interfere.
In spite of the conceivable gloominess of mixing death and comedy, the mood of the play is often lightened by the graceless conduct of the Condomines’ maid, Edith (played by Tess Markham).
“This is such a wonderful story, and we have such a wonderful cast,” said play director Carolyn McMaster.
Having been a cast member in a previous production of “Blithe Spirit,” McMaster’s no stranger to the production. She praised the style of playwright Noel Coward, who uses a combination of comedy and calamity to give the play a clever viewpoint on life.
“He is a master at using words,” McMaster said. “It’s a comedy and it’s hilarious in many spots, but it also has some very poignant thoughts. For instance, ‘The time is approaching,’ and Madam Arcati said ‘Maybe it’s receding.’ Noel Coward throws in those thoughts to stir up the idea that things shouldn’t be accepted at face value. Maybe there are other ways to look at things. Maybe our world doesn’t really act the way everyone thinks it does.”
“Many of the actors in this show have done shows with us before, but we do have some new cast members this time around,” said stage manager Mary Kuhn. “They have all worked very hard, and they’re just chomping at the bit to have an audience to show off their work.”
“Blithe Spirit” is the Norwich Theater Company’s penultimate production of the 2014-2015 season. On August 21-23, members will bring “The Music Man” to the stage.
Tickets for “Blithe Spirit” are still available for $12 each on the Norwich Theater Company website, www.norwichtheatercompany.org, and at Service Pharmacy in Norwich. Show times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Martin W. Kappel Theater, 27 W. Main St., Norwich. Cost for admission is $14 at the door.
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