Island Stage Left scores another winner: Blithe Spirit

Ruth (Joan Benney) isn't sure to whom Charles (Dan Mayes) is talking as his late wife Elvira (Krista Strutz) blithely drops by...photo by John Sinclair for Island Stage Left.

Last night’s opening night for Island Stage Left‘s fall show Blithe Spirit had a lot to like, and a few surprises.

On the surprise side, the nearly full house last night (unusual for a show this early in the run, on a Thursday night) suggests this show may scare up a nice following. I’m pretty sure if the word-of-mouth praise I heard last night starts with last night’s crowd, the show is off to a great start.

Noel Coward wrote the play during the Blitz in Britain in 1941, and you can tell he’s going for something light to lift spirits here (in his autobiography he says he wrote the script in only five days). Ruth (Joan Benney) isn’t sure to whom Charles (Dan Mayes) is talking as his late wife Elvira (Krista Strutz) blithely drops by their home, and none of them are sure what to do with the energetically clairvoyant Madame Arcati (Deb Langhans). The play is about people reacting to other people they think they know well, and having to adjust to what they discover. What do you do when there’s too much ectoplasm around the house?

This is a great cast to have fun with that; it’s cool to see some of the best actors around all in one show.

It’s good to see Eric Concord back on stage on the island as Doctor Bradman, with Ann Cozzalio as his wife; Amanda Smith (Edith, the maid) completes an interesting year on stage around here that has swung from the Playwrights Festival to Peanuts to this.

You’re going to love the way this cast works together, as this farce cheers up an island heading into the darker months of the winter.

Kit Moorhouse attended last night’s show, and reminded me that she was in the show when it was put on some 25 years ago here at the Royal Theater (now the Palace, before the Community Theatre was built, and before Island Stage Left arrived in the late ’90s).

The show runs Thursdays-Sunday till December 3rd (no show on Thanksgiving, with shows at 7:30 except on Sundays when they are at 4pm), at the Fairgrounds. Don’t miss it! You’re going to like this one – see you there!

How do you tell your late wife to go away when she already has? Photo by John Sinclair.

You can support the San Juan Update by doing business with our loyal advertisers, and by making a one-time contribution or a recurring donation.