Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

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Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:11pm

"Two-time Tony Award nominee Jayne Atkinson has joined the cast of the eagerly awaited revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, which will begin performances at the Shubert Theatre Feb. 26, 2009.

As previously reported, four-time Tony winner Angela Lansbury will play psychic Madame Arcati and two-time Tony winner Christine Ebersole (Tony winner for Grey Gardens and 42nd Street) will be the ghostly Elvira in a cast that also boasts film star Rupert Everett ("My Best Friend's Wedding," "Another Country" and "An Ideal Husband"), who will be making his Broadway debut, and theatre veteran Simon Jones. Michael Blakemore, who directed Lansbury in Deuce, will direct.

Atkinson, according to Variety, will play the bride of Everett's character..."

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123437.html

Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:21pm

Sounds like a great cast!
Atkinson was phenomenal in Enchanted April.

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:22pm

Please book a different theatre.

"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad

"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:25pm

Like where? Some are saying the Neil Simon, but that has only about 50 less seats. What would be a preferable theatre?

"He found something that he wanted, had always wanted and always would want— not to be admired, as he had feared; not to be loved, as he had made himself believe; but to be necessary to people, to be indispensable." -F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:33pm

DIVIDING THE ESTATE is a limited run, as far as I know.

It's being produced by LCT. So unless it starts selling incredibly well, I can't imagine it playing much longer beyond its subscribership.

The Booth would be the perfect theatre.

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:47pm

But isn't The Story of My Life Life rumored to be set up for there?

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:49pm

Wanna Be A Foster, DIVIDING THE ESTATE closes January 4th and another show already has the theater booked after it.

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:53pm

I have a feeling 39 STEPS is going to cancel its transfer plans to the Hayes.

They've been papering up the wazoo lately, and a transfer is just going to cost them money that they're clearly not going to make back.

And they haven't even recouped yet.

SPIRIT could take the Hayes if that happens.

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:57pm

BLITHE SPIRIT at The Hayes is out of the question. Not with the set design Peter J. Davison has dreamed up, at least.

And do you honestly think the producers of a show with names like Ebersole and Lansbury would ever in a million years consider going for such a small house? I'm not disagreeing with your belief that The Shubert wasn't the best choice, but be realistic.

#10

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 9:14pm

The only reason why I'm happy with the Shubert is because there will be inexpensive seats in the balcony so I can see this multiple times without breaking the bank. Other than that reason, the Shubert Theater is a big mistake.

#11

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 9:15pm

Be realistic?

"NAMES?"

Ebersole starred in GREY GARDENS. Lost its entire investment. FLOP.

Lansbury starred in DEUCE. Lost its entire investment. FLOP.

These women are not NAMES that sell full-price tickets to anybody beyond New York.

And do you mind telling me how you're affiliated with the production, since you know about the detail of the set design?

#12

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 9:23pm

how sad it is that Angela Lansbury doesn't sell out a house?

#13

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 9:55pm

I want to know who is going to play Edith?

After all, she IS the most important character in the play.

What great ones do the less will prattle of

#14

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 10:17pm

Blithe Spirit is a popular, classic title known to most saavy theatergoers. ANd I think the combination of this cast, together with Blakemore's track record, with likely great review, will fill the Shubert.

Deuce was a troubled new play that didn't garner great reviews.

"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"

#15

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 10:38pm

Most theatregoers nowadays are FAR from savvy.

Broadway survives on tourists.

I consider myself a savvy theatregoer and I had never heard of this play until this revival was announced.

If tourists can't fill the Shubert for SPAMALOT, a big splashy musical based on a popular series of movies, then this play is not going to survive there for very long.

GREY GARDENS got great reviews, and it lost every penny that was put into it.

#16

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 10:47pm

- "how sad it is that Angela Lansbury doesn't sell out a house?"

So sad, indeed. Ms. Lansbury is divine.

- "If tourists can't fill the Shubert for SPAMALOT, a big splashy musical based on a popular series of movies, then this play is not going to survive there for very long."

I'm not arguing that Blithe Spirit will fill the Shubert (it probably can't), but I just wanted to clarify: Spamalot DID often fill the Shubert (due to tourists; nothing can continually sell out on the NY audience base alone) in the first year of its run, correct? Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but I really thought it was a regularly sold-out show with the original cast and in its Best Musical Tony-winning year.

#17

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 10:47pm

A well reviewed play has a much better chance pulling in NYC based patrons than a musical does. I say it'll soar. You say it'll tank. Let's make a bet and see what happens.

"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"

#18

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 10:55pm

A well reviewed play will SOAR in the SHUBERT?

Are you aware of how enormous that house is?

#19

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:29pm

Very aware. Sat in the SHubert many times. I still have a feeling they wouldn't have booked it without having some sense of the audience they'll attract.

And you really should read the play Foster. It's a classic and quite marvelous.

"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"

#20

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:35pm

Well, I'm planning to SEE the play, early in the run.

I'd rather see it live before I read it.

I'm sure it's just lovely. And the cast looks like a fabulous bunch.

#21

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:38pm

Everyone is perfectly cast. I think it's a broad enough play, very high comedy, that the big house won't be a problem. It may prove, as you suggest, a pain to fill, but I still think it'll get a healthy enough crowd to return its investment.

"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"

#22

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:43pm

Blithe Spirit is one a really terrific play. Many people know about, there is a film starring Rex Harrison, it is a staple in MANY community theatres and is talked about in college theatre courses. Noel Coward's name is still pretty well known. I think it will do rather well. It's got a terrific cast and a great director.

"Love the Art in Yourself. Not Yourself in the Art." -- Stanislavski

#23

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:19am

I have to agree with Blonde. When are we going to find out about the most important character, Edith. A small, but very important role.

#24

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/18/08 at 6:00am

With the title, the playwright, and three well-known actors (one of whom is widely beloved), it should come in with a very nice advance for a play. It's going to be tough to fill the Shubert, but if the reviews are good, it could do very well there. Even if it doesn't quite fill the Shubert, that can be fine. If it plays to 80-85 percent in the Shubert, the producers will do very well.

If it doesn't get good reviews, it probably will still run a bit, though that theatre might feel pretty empty at some performances.

Having said that, I do agree that they should have gone for a smaller house. The actors in Private Lives a few years ago were known to have been very unhappy in the Rodgers, as well they should have been. I didn't like that production a whole lot and I don't think I would have liked it more in a smaller house, but those who did like it probably would have liked it even more in a smaller house.

On the other hand, Maggie Smith in the same play didn't seem to have problems in the same theatre in the 1970s. And I think the Smith production wasn't amplified, unlike the last one.

I do worry about this Blithe Spirit though. I love the play, but I have very mixed feelings about Blakemore's past work and I think Ebersole is way too old for that role (and I'm not sure she would have been a good choice for it when she was the right age). I have hopes for Lansbury and Everett, though, and Atkinson's a classy addition to the cast. Ruth is the seemingly unshowy role that can steal the show and it wouldn't surprise me if Atkinson manages the trick.

As for Spamalot, you can see at the links that it filled the Shubert very nicely for a long time:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/grossesshow.cfm?show=SPAMALOT&year=2005

https://www.broadwayworld.com/grossesshow.cfm?show=SPAMALOT&year=2006

#25

re: Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth

Posted: 11/18/08 at 8:28am

I had the great pleasure of going to college with Jayne Atkinson and directing her in her very first lead role. Even then she was a glowing, resplendent actress, and remains so to this day. She will make a marvelous Ruth in a tremendous cast.

Foster, you've gotta be a young'un to have never even HEARD of Blithe Spirit before this revival's announcement. Surely being the musical theater fan you are, you've heard of High Spirits, the musical made of it?

Oh well, that's just a gentle admonishment that bragging about a hole in your education is probably not the best idea.

You contribute a great deal of good to the Board.

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