Blithe Spirit 1st preview — Page 2

I will admit ahead of time: while it is true that I liked all those involved to varying degrees, I have to saw I'm not the least bit biased. I have never seen any of these people in other stage roles, this being the first time I saw any outside of the television screen. This being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I found it absolutely hilarious with an astonishing cast. Especially for a first preview I was astonished by how well-gelled it already seemed to be. Lansbury more or less has it in the bag if/when she is nominated for a Tony, as her turn as Madame Acarti was nothing short of brilliant. There might be some who say people liked her just because she is Lansbury and while I will agree that might be why she got entrance applause and nonstop exit applause, I have to say that she shined so brightly it's hard to believe some disagree. Angela Lansbury commanded that stage like no other. When she was moving around, whether dancing to the light music, trying to communicate with Elvira without actually knowing where to look, or just moving about in general, it was clear that this woman is a stage actress first and foremost.

Rupert Everett, while not necessarily the best thing (perhaps, if you will, the NEXT best thing) about the show, actually stood out quite well as a leading man. I am so used to him either playing bit roles in interesting work (Oberon for instance) or just the supporting gay best friend (My Best Friend's Wedding, Next Best Thing), he really did well as the anchor to all this madness. Playing an equally straight-man role to all the ensuing madness was Jayne Atkinson. Though she appears only briefly in the second act, she delivers Coward's lines with such dry wit and guffaw-inducing timing. She was so good, in fact, that I completely forgot who she was. While the others were equally (and at times even more) brilliant, I always knew it was Everett playing Charles. No matter how funny and out-of-this world Arcati and Elvira were portrayed, not for a moment did I forget that it was Angela and Christine playing these roles. Even Deborah Rush suffered from this in a bit role, as I still had some trouble letting go her hilarious turn in Strangers With Candy. This was not so with Atkinson. While some might say it is because she has not achieved the level of fame the others have, the woman has been nominated for two Tonys and will always be Karen Hayes (24) to me. That being said, it wasn't until intermission that I even realized who this very believable Ruth was.

And Christine Ebersole was absolutely ethereal in her performance. Did she seem all that human? No, but if anything I thought she played a ghost almost too well. It is a rather well-known role, having been played by everyone from Blythe Danner to Lauren Bacall to Rosemary Harris (and, somehow, even Twiggy). Her general tone, mannerisms, the way she fluttered about and almost all her character decisions (I felt) were completely in line with who she was meant to be (as opposed to, say, Lauren Graham's character choices for the equally well-known role of Adelaide, which I felt were not once correct). Her varying moods included joy for seeing her widower husband, mischievousness, sorrow, high-spirited, and downright vengeful. And with each, she conveyed them with a sense of utter reality, not usually reserved for a farce and almost never used with someone who is from "the beyond".

Also worth noting were Deborah Rush and Susan Louise O'Connor, who had small roles but shined tremendously in them. O'Connor especially delivered some of the best scenes in her short times on the stage. Though it was obviously a directorial decision, I have to admit I was laughing quite hard when she was clanging about while putting away the tea.

All in all, quite a great night at The Shubert. If you want a timeless show with a brilliant cast, lavish costumes, gorgeous set, tremendous direction, and even some Noël Coward music sung by Ebersole herself (I promise it fits well into the play) then this is not to be missed. :)

I'm sure someone can say it with more certainty, but I have a photo of Lansbury taken (my camera says so) at 11:08. So somewhere around three hours. But probably a lot less than that.

Oooh, and I almost forgot to add: the only problem I could tell was that Lansbury was either not properly miked or needs to project a whole lot more. I was sitting second row (Row A) and still had trouble hearing her at times. And in a theater as huge as The Shubert, I can't imagine people in the balcony having that great a time trying to understand her. Again, first preview so this is to be somewhat expected, but I still thought I would mention it nevertheless.

Updated On: 2/27/09 at 06:22 AM

How were the TDF seats?

I've said from the get-go (and long before this production) that Lansbury would be perfect as Madame Arcati basing my opinion on her performance in Death on the Nile. And I'm crossing my fingers for Rupert Everett -- has anyone commented on his interview in the NYT magazine section last week? He comes out and admits that the women always outshine whoever is playing Charles -- it's just the way the play is written. But without Charles, there wouldn't be a play, right?

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I was there last night and thought it was absolutely hysterical right from the very first scenic description ("As it's summer in England, a fire is burning."). The cast was top notch and well prepared--everyone's character is so different, and it was great when they all came together. I'll add my praise for Jayne Atkinson, who will hopefully get a huge amount of recognition for the amazing work she's doing when the reviews come out. I got a little misty when Angela Lansbury made her first entrance, and I thought she was a charming and perfectly dotty Madame Arcati. I also had trouble hearing her, and I've got young ears. I'm not sure if she has her own body mic, but I know that there are floor mics all along the downstage area, and I'm sure they're placed around the set as well.

For all those worried about Rupert Everett, I think he gave a solid performance. As for the play being more about the women, there is actually a point where Ruth says that Charles has always been dominated by women, and it's only when the spirits are sent away that he comes into his own, and those last 30 seconds are roaringly funny.

The show came down last night at around 10:40. I think that once everything is tightened up and the actors get used to performing in front of a live audience, they'll be able to shave off at least five minutes, at most ten. There's only the one intermission, which happened about an hour and ten minutes in.

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Updated On: 2/27/09 at 09:24 AM

oh my god. You saw Geraldine Page's final broadway performance?? amazing.

I adore Jayne Atkinson (I thought she was great even in the mediocre "Enchanted April") and am glad to hear the she's once again shining in this. Momma Calvin will be seeing it with me later in March.

I agree about Ruth. Judith Ivey wiped up the stage in the last Broadway outing; way back in the 50's, I saw a summer stock production in which Mary McCarthy played Ruth and she, too, stole the show (not a bad cast either -- Erik Rhodes, Margaret Phillips and wonderful Enid Markey as Madame Arcati).

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I can't wait to see this production! Did anyone stage door? I am wondering if Rupert signed.

Now the question is if I will be able to stagedoor before my bus leaves at 11:30pm!!!!

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I was there last night, as well. The cast was terrific across the board. A pitch perfect ensemble. I thought Rupert Everett was just wonderful. His line deliveries were very sharp and witty, and he constantly had me laughing. Atkinson was perfection, though a bit predictable. I was really more engaged by the performances of Ebersole, Lansbury, Everett, and O'Connor. I found myself on the edge of my seat as to what physical and vocal twists and turns they were going to deliver next.

Lansbury is clearly back in the type of role she excels in. A complete, hilarious kook. She was definitely having trouble with her lines at times, but I was at the first preview of DEUCE and she was having similar problems back then. I'm sure by the end of previews, she will have them down. She really does need to seriously project a HECK of a lot more, or she needs to be severely miked. I was in Row J Center Orchestra, and I had trouble hearing her about 25% of the time. I can only imagine what it was like for people up in the balcony.

I still believe that the Shubert is much too large a house for this show, both in terms of the number of seats and the lack of intimacy in such an enormous space.

While the pacing was a bit slow, I do agree that by the end of previews things will run much more smoothly.

Ebersole is such a brilliant comedienne and she had the audience in roars of laughter. I also *loved* the song interludes sung so beautifully by her!

This is a finely directed and designed production by Michael Blakemore, and I'm thrilled to see such a sharp group of comedic actors hamming it up together so perfectly.

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"Deuce" is both the title and a pretty accurate description of that show.

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