February 09, 2011|By Kerry Reid, special to the Tribune
Noel Coward's spirited confection about a writer haunted by the ghost of his "morally untidy" first wife debuted during the summer of 1941 in Blitz-ravaged London, but Chicago locals seeking respite from the howling winds of winter might also welcome the opportunity to slip out of their wet clothes and into the dry-martini wit of "Blithe Spirit."
Though decidedly shallower in its analysis of marital relations than both "Private Lives" and "Design for Living" (which have also received sturdy stagings at First Folio from director Alison C. Vesely), when the underlying mechanics of Coward's sitcom-in-evening-wear script are oiled and polished, it hums along like a vintage roadster. And if you get just the right actor for the scenery-chomping role of barmy medium Madame Arcati, whose seance returns the dead Elvira (Melanie Keller) to the home of preening pop novelist and skeptic-of-the-occult Charles Condomine (Nick Sandys) and his no-nonsense second wife Ruth (Erin Noel Grennan) — well, then you're three-quarters of the way home.
As Arcati, Paula Scrofano masterfully combines the ditziness of "Bewitched's" Aunt Clara with the forthright hale-and-hearty demeanor of a Cub Scout den mother. From her oversized handbag to her sensible thick socks and tweed jacket, she looks like a woman who could easily sniff out the best tomatoes at the greengrocers — her ability to summon spirits is just one of her practical gifts. Scrofano's seamless marriage of the earthy and otherworldly provides the blueprint for Vesely's well-paced production, in which Elvira's startling return from the Great Beyond is soon overshadowed by the mundane irritations common to all marriages.
Sandys, whose vulpine good looks and impish offhand charm make him a natural for the role, embodies a man much more comfortable manipulating characters on the page than dealing with the mess of real people. If his initial terror at Elvira's return doesn't quite convince, his exasperation at having to balance her everlasting pettishness with Ruth's sour disbelief hits the mark perfectly. "You won't even allow me to have an hallucination if I want to," he pouts to his corporeal spouse.
Keller's flirtatious "ectoplasmic manifestation" adroitly shows off Elvira's narcissism in both its beguiling and maddening aspects, while Grennan's Ruth moves quickly from bemused tolerance of Charles' determination "to be witty at all costs" (surely a quality in common with his creator) to simmering outrage at sharing her domicile with her vengeful predecessor. Angela Miller's well-appointed set and Vicky Strei's shimmering costumes add understated country-house elegance.
This isn't a laugh-a-minute farce — rather, Coward's arch humor invites you to settle in and enjoy the antics from a middle distance. Unlike the complicated trio in "Design for Living" or the squabbling Elyot and Amanda in "Private Lives," "Blithe Spirit" doesn't expect us to dig up any darker shades in the characters. As Coward famously observed, "If there was a heart, it would be a sad story." But for a gloomy Chicago winter, it channels all the right spirits.
ctc-live@tribune.com
When: Through March 6
Where: First Folio Theatre at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st Street and Illinois Highway 83, Oakbrook
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Tickets: $29-$35 at 630-986-8067 and firstfolio.org