Just back from a quick weekend in NY, and was able to catch BLITHE SPIRIT on Broadway. Its currently in previews now, and opens officially on March 15. Along with PRIVATE LIVES, this play is probably playwright Noel Coward's best known play (and his personal favorite). This is the 4th time this Spirited production has played Broadway; a testament to the timeless wit of Coward, and the fact that an audience will never tire of a well-written, sophisticated farce (especially one that deals with sex, not to mention love as well as the supernatural. The play features the triple threat of Angela Lansbury, Rupert Everett, and Christine Ebersole: All three veterans of the stage, and each adding their own veneer of class and sass to the production. The plot, wherein a daffy medium conjures up the ghost of Everett's 1st wife and does her best to split him with his current wife, is hysterically funny and smart. The casting is superb, with Everett a natural as the pithy and suave husband, Lansbury a treat as the dotty medium Madame Arcati, and Ebersole gliding about like Carole Lombard in gossamer. This is a no-brainer for these economic times: a sophisticated classic comedy with a wonderful cast and plenty of laughs. Look for it when they announce the Tony nominations...
