THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 23, 1995 TAG: 9510210041
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: BY MONTAGUE GAMMON III, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
ADMIRABLY SLICK and diverting as the Virginia Stage Company production of ``Blithe Spirit'' is, it seems so light and airy that the obvious comparison is to the ghost of the title.
The show is amusing; Noel Coward's script guarantees that. All the actors are competent and smooth. Everything takes place on an impressive and attractive set, appealingly lighted and colorfully costumed, all tricked out with clever and neatly executed special effects.
Yet it leaves the final impression of being a shell, with little beneath its polished surface.
Coward's tale of a writer who inadvertently conjures up the ghost of his first wife is one of the most popular scripts in America's regional theaters. Besides the banter between Charles Condomine and his second wife, Ruth, and their interplay with the shadow of his first wife, Elvira, it offers one of the great character roles in comedy.
Madame Arcati, the wildly eccentric author of children's books who doubles as a spiritual medium, is almost guaranteed to steal the show in any production.
When Betsy Palmer is on stage in that part, it is clear that director Charley Hensley has structured everything as a frame for her florid performance. Palmer, a veteran actress best known for her work on TV game shows, certainly has the tools and the talent to make Arcati a rich and memorable character. If only she would stop waving her hands about and devote her energy to the nuances of personality and vibrant strength that Coward wrote into this role.
Only twice - as Arcati builds up to her grand Act II exit and as she awakens from a trance - is Palmer allowed to settle down and really concentrate on her acting. Too often she skims the surface of the role, traying forcefully, though gracefully, to act weird.
As Charles and Ruth, David McCann and Corinna May open the play with a scene in which they spend much of their time looking into the audience, although they are supposedly talking to one another. Here they first set the undulating, unvarying rhythm that is at odds with the thrust-and-parry dialogue.
McCann brings an engaging, boyish and mischievous charm to his role, but he quickly exhausts his repertoire of grins and little shrugs and his one lilting vocal pattern. Like Palmer, he is allowed to recycle a limited number of gestures and expressions throughout the show.
May approaches the often thankless role of Ruth with an eye toward the woman's solid rationality, and she serves as an effective foil for the more flamboyant characters. Her grip on reason is so secure that it's not really convincing when she breaks down in tears.
As the ghostly Elvira, Karla Hendrick projects a pert and frank sensuality, though she has been directed to shift from one rather self-conscious pose to the next throughout her scenes.
Yet Hendrick's final scenes with McCann are really the most satisfying in the show, as it becomes clear that beneath all the sparkle and verbal glitter, Coward was constructing an insightful commentary on the way relationships change and deteriorate.
Richard Pelzman and Deborah Mayo play Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, friends of the Condomines. They have an amusing, ongoing marital power struggle that provides neat background punctuation to the larger interactions of other characters.
Deborah Stenard earns her goodly share of laughs as the Condomine's frantic, overeager maid, Edith. She shows verve and plenty of attention to detail. The role has perhaps been made broader here than Coward wrote it, but the choice does not seem inappropriate.
Nor is there anything inherently wrong with adding one bit of broad slapstick to Coward's verbal comedy. Hensley's little addition in Act II got one of the biggest laughs of the evening. It was deftly timed and executed. It is unfortunate that there were not more laughs for the nonstop wit that is the fabric of this script.
The set was designed by Dex Edwards, costumes by Patricia Garel, lighting by Liz Lee and sound by Erica French.
``Blithe Spirit'' certainly offers a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours, but it could have been a fine gem. Instead, it was more like a piece of tasteful and expensive costume jewelry. ILLUSTRATION: THEATER REVIEW
What: ``Blithe Spirit,'' by Noel Coward, performed by the
Virginia Stage Company
When: 2 and 7 p.m. today. 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and again
next weekend. Runs through Nov. 5.
Call: 627-1234
by CNB