Blithe Spirit: Of Coward's Comedy & Dietrich's Gams

By Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine

Broadway welcomes one of the most popular stage comedies of all-time this month as Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit begins previews at the Shubert Theatre. Featuring a ghost, a love triangle, a wild medium, and the witty artistry of the remarkable Noel Coward, this comedy always brings a smile.

Blithe Spirit

"It just seemed to me that at this particular time, with capitalism, I'm afraid, in a free fall, it might be a good time to cheer people up," says director Michael Blakemore with Cowardian understatement and a glint in his eye.

"I knew the play...hadn't read it for years and years and years," Blakemore tells Broadway Magazine and Broadway.tv, " Saw it when I was a kid, several years ago, and haven't seen it since. I saw a rather boring movie that David Lean made, just after the war. And I read it, and it seemed remarkably fresh"

Written in 1941 by the legendary Noel Coward, Blithe Spirit is one of a string of hit comedies that Coward penned and which continue to be performed around the globe. Even at this writing, his comedy Present Laughter is slated for Broadway next season as well.

"He knew exactly what the public wanted, and at his peak he came up with these remarkable plays that still seem to attract the audiences," offers Blithe Spirit's Simon Jones when considering the genius of Coward.

Even stage legend Angela Lansbury, who plays the beloved Madame Arcatti in Blithe Spirit, was taken aback when she met Sir Noel. "I was awestruck," smiles Ms. Lansbury when remembering the time she first met Noel Coward, "Awesome. I met him with Marlene Dietrich. She was a very glamorous women, the best set of gams in the world, in her time."

"I just have such an admiration for the amount of work that he managed to do," Ms. Lansbury reflects on the talent of Noel Coward, "He wrote. He was an actor. He toured during the war. He wrote some of the most important movies of that period... and he wrote Blithe Spirit in the midst of the darkest days in World War II."

"This particular play, Blithe Spirit, is just one of the great, entertaining plays in the world of theatre," offers film star Rupert Everett, who is making his Broadway debut. No stranger to high comedy, Everett has starred in film versions of two of Oscar Wilde's plays. He tells Broadway.TV about the similarities between the two comic masters.

"I've never worked with any of these castmembers before," offers another Broadway titan, Christine Ebersole about the all-star cast, "they are people I've admired a long time. It's been a thrill just to meet everybody and to work with them."

Blithe Spirit starts raising Broadway spirits, materially and metaphorically, when previews begin on February 26. Check out other features right here on Broadway.tv.