Noel Coward, cast shine in Art Center’s production of ‘Blithe Spirit’ on Hilton Head

Conjure, summon, invoke, bring back and, most importantly, send back. These are just a handful of the colorful words that are magically sprinkled about by award winning playwright Noel Coward through out his play “Blithe Spirit.”

What a perfect opening night at the theater as we took in the broad humor tempered with British subtleties in Coward’s play, the direction of Russel Treyz and the spot-on performances of the cast of seven actors.

Coward is well known for his delightful “drawing room” comedies. He also wrote “Private Lives”, and is a genius when it comes to manipulating the English language and collecting and delivering a super portion of the nuances of British comedy.

“Spirit” revolves around Charles Condomine, (Gary Lindemann), a successful novelist, who has set up with his friend Dr. Bradman, (Tim Jerome) and their wives, Ruth Condomine (Kate Hartke) and Mrs Bradman (Sheila Stasack) at a dinner party at the Condomine’s gracious British home. Condomine has invited Madam Arcati (Peggy Cosgrave), an eccentric, though perspicacious medium, to share the details of her conjuring and her close touch with the spirit world.

Everybody is greeted and accommodated by the painfully shy, struggling to be helpful, and pretty much clueless Edith (Kayla Ryan Walsh), the Condomine’s maid. Here’s the important little backstory that is critical to understanding the action that follows: Condomine, arrogant and self assured, married his present wife, Ruth, who borders on the punctilious, after his first wife, Elvira had passed on some seven years before. He wants to find the in’s and out’s of the conjuring world, and was counting on Madam Arcati to-show-and-tell all of the secrets of seancing.

When dinner is over and Edith has cleared the table and offered drinks, Madam Arcati begins her work. Lights are extinguished and everyone sits around the dining table, hands together.

Though she has not reached out to anyone in particular, Madam, Arcati is shocked to find that she had somehow reached Elvira.

Elvira had not only arrived in the Condomine home, but had become visible, and can speak. That’s where the play’s action becomes so, funny. She is only visible to Charles and of course, the audience.

What follows is hilarious.

The cast keeps us delightfully amused as the difficulties of Elvira’s continuing materialization continue to take a distressing toll on everyone. There is, through it all, a romantic relationship , a murder and some serious skullduggery.

It could only be British, and only Coward.

If you go

What: “Blithe Spirit”

When: Through March 3.

Where: Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Hilton Head Island,

For more information: Visit artshhi.com or call 843-842-2787.

This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 12:45 PM.