Atkinson Joins Cast of BLITHE SPIRIT as Ruth — Page 2

Jayne Atkinson is AMAZING. This should be great.

True dat.

It's one thing to say, "I've never heard of that play," but it's another thing to brag about it.

This British play by Coward is a staple of the American theatre, and has been for the past half century. Regional, summer stock, college, community theatre, and even high school.

It has very likely been produced as much if not more than Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Picnic, or even the Crucible.

The only non-musical plays I would guess have been produced more would be Our Town, The Man Who Came to Dinner, and Arsenic and Old Lace.

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Your own post:

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

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Part 1 of post is bragging:

"I consider myself a savvy theatregoer ..."

Part 2 of post is condescending:

"... and I had never heard of this play until this revival was announced."

That's as much of a dissection as you're going to get from me at this early hour. I don't have PowerPoint handy either, or a pointer and easel, so I can't make a diagram.

I hope you understand.

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Updated On: 11/18/08 at 10:21 AM

Sounds like it's going to be a great show!!!

It feels like anything the Jeffrey Richards team touches turns to gold lately...

"Honestly,I don't think it's too big...if that's where The Philadelphia Story played originally...and Katharine Hepburn was on that stage...I think a Lansbury, an Ebersole and an Atkinson definitely equal (if not surpass!!!) the star power of one Katharine Hepburn:)"

Things have changed since then, expectations have changed, acting styles have changed to some degree. For one thing, when you're projecting to be heard in a house that size unamplified, you're simply giving a larger performance. I'm sure this production will be amplified, as I'm sure the original production of The Philadelphia Story wasn't. Theatregoers expected that back then (and I do think we've lost something by with all this amplification).

I'm not saying it won't play well in the Shubert. I saw plays there back in the 1970s and they came through. I've seen plays in the Lunt-Fontanne, the Rodgers and the Neil Simon. Some have played perfectly well in large houses, but some haven't. And plays have often played (and still play) in road houses that are bigger than the Shubert. But I do think a smaller house would be better for this particular play.

I didn't see the last Broadway revival of this play, but it played the Simon, and I wonder if that was one of the problems with it (since most of what I've read and heard about it hasn't been very good). The first Broadway production played the much smaller Morosco and later moved to the even smaller Booth. It's really character comedy and I think that plays better in a smaller house.