Jaren Schoustra in Blithe Spirit
Do you like your ghosts a little more silly than scary? Are you more likely to spend an October evening watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown than The Exorcist? Do you like to browse costumes at Spirit Halloween, but steer clear of the section with the creepy animatronics? Well, this Halloween season, Playcrafters Barn Theatre has got you covered with Noël Coward’s supernatural comedy Blithe Spirit, directed by Grey White.
This not-too-spooky farce follows novelist Charles Condomine (Esteban Lopez) and his wife Ruth (Krissy Wheeler), who invite the eccentric medium Madame Arcati (Anna Kronenberger) to conduct a séance in their home as research for Charles’ next book. However, things take a comically disastrous turn when the séance accidentally summons Elvira (Jaren Schoustra), Charles’s deceased first wife. The mischievous Elvira, visible only to Charles, is quick to rouse Ruth’s ire, and past and present humorously collide in this spirited comedy. We were at opening night on Friday, October 24.
Mischa: The first thing we should note is that, as White announced just before the play began, this production was forced by last-minute illness to shuffle some roles around mere days ahead of opening night, so the show could go on. Krissy Wheeler was originally going to play the Condomines’ maid Edith, not Ruth Condomine; and Natalie Hansen, the stage manager, was brought in to play Edith. Given those conditions, we especially applaud these two for turning on a dime and managing to give strong performances in roles they were not originally planning for.
Kitty: Absolutely. Because of the last-minute casting adjustment, both actresses (understandably) had scripts in hand. But they were very natural in their deliveries and clearly familiar enough with the lines to be at least partly off-book, which is impressive.
M: Wheeler, especially, had her work cut out for her, because Ruth has a lot to say, and spends a lot of time on stage. But she seemed entirely comfortable in the role, and used the script in the most unobtrusive way possible.
K: Both those performances felt relaxed and confident, which actually made me wish the same ease had carried over to one particular element that tripped up most of the cast: the accents. This is a personal pet peeve of mine, but I don’t think you need to use English accents just because a play is set in England. In this case, the accents were all over the place, and ended up distracting from the performance.
M: Lopez had a consistently good English accent, which did strongly support his characterization of Charles as a supercilious sophisticate – unruffled, for the most part, by the supernatural twists that would freak most of us out. This provided a wonderful contrast with Kronenberger’s excitable, absent-minded Arcati.
K: Kronenberger did a great job with that part. In a show about a haunting, you’d think that most scenes would be pretty high-energy. But the characters are so oddly blasé about the whole situation that you really need someone like Madame Arcati to provide a zany element.
M: Yes, and having her climb over other characters to take a seat in the middle of the sofa was a nice moment of chaos in the midst of the urbane banter. In what is a fairly long show, more changes of pace like that would've been helpful.
K: We did get a humorously tense scene between the two wives when Ruth confronts Elvira, who, to her, is completely invisible. Ruth ends up directing her comments to thin air, speaking to one side of the room while Elvira flits about as she pleases in the background. At one point, Elvira launches a throw pillow at Ruth, but that’s about as intense as things get. Given that the humor hinges on the fact that only the audience can see the ghost, but no one on stage (except Charles) can, I feel like this dynamic could’ve been taken even further. I wish Schoustra would have been given full rein to play up the mischief – giving Ruth bunny ears, tossing things at her, yanking on her hair, and generally causing more havoc. I mean, if your arch-nemesis is right there, and you’ve got the power of invisibility, why not make the most of it?
M: Hansen provided some effective nervous energy, flitting about unpredictably and clumsily as the jumpy Edith – playing up the fact that the Condomines criticize her for doing everything too quickly. Ultimately this agitation has a payoff when Edith turns out to be crucial for the final plot twist.
K: Drew DeKeyrel and Erika White-Seabloom were also solid as Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, the Condomines’ skeptical friends who join them for the séance. They serve as the all-important “straight men,” oblivious to the presence of the ghost and the chaos she’s caused.
M: On the technical side, Mike Turczynski’s set was well fleshed out with interior details, but unobtrusive. Scene changes were simple and straightforward except for one delay during a costume change that apparently took longer than expected.
K: Speaking of costumes, I really appreciated the distinct choices that costume designer Jaina Gliva made for Ruth and Elvira, each of which seemed to reflect their personalities. Elvira’s black silk slip dress under a matching robe accentuated her sultry, vixen-like persona, while Ruth’s more traditional dresses with higher necklines perfectly suited her portrayal of a classic housewife.
M: There were also a few nice effects here and there, with lighting and moving set pieces, to add some ghostly touches. All in all, thankfully, the show did go on, and Blithe Spirit is now playing for your Halloween-season viewing pleasure!
Blithe Spirit runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL) through November 2, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.
