University students performed the comical play, Blithe Spirit, at Givens Performing Arts Center (GPAC) from Feb. 14 – 16 at 7:30 p.m. Admission was free.
Blithe Spirit was written by celebrated English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer Noel Coward, who rose to fame for his flamboyance what Time Magazine once called, “A sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise.”
Blithe Spirit follows the life of socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his book.
However, his plan backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his annoying and temperamental first wife, Elvira, after the séance is completed.
Elvira makes several attempts to disrupt Charles’ second marriage to his wife Ruth, who cannot see or hear the ghost.
Blithe Spirit was well attended and well received by the audience.
While all the actors were cheered on for their superb performances, special consideration was given to Jamonte Madison for his rendition of the character Charles Condomine and Faith Harrison as Madame Arcati. Marcius “CiCi” Guthrie also managed to capture quite a few hearts for her performance as Edith, the delightfully awkward house maid with a somewhat frank and literal manner.
“I thought it [performance] went very well. I am extremely happy with the outcome,” director Carolanne Marano said.
While she made a brief but minor mention of a few small improvements concerning the technical aspects, Marano was thoroughly pleased.
Marano expressed a personal interest in other works of Noel Coward and commended his ability to avoid all political assumptions in all shapes and forms.
“He was always about the entertainment factor at the end of the day. He didn’t want to go to deep into anything serious. He wanted people to have fun and enjoy themselves after a hard day. Noel Coward wanted people to have fun and forget their worries for a time,” Morano said. “It [Blithe Spirit] has a surprising ending.”
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