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| Tom Koelbel and Joy Bingham Strimple photo courtesy Don Bluth Front Row Theatre |
by Julia Bashaw
Noël Coward's classic comedy Blithe Spirit opens tonight at the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre in a production being directed by Janis Webb and starring Joy Bingham Strimple as the somewhat crazy medium next door, Madame Arcati.
The plot of the production revolves around Charles Condomine, a novelist who needs inspiration and material for his next book. At the time this play was written, people were curious about the afterlife and where their loved ones went after they died in the war. This is when séances became quite popular. In the play, Charles Condomine decides to invite over a medium, Madame Arcati, to perform a séance in order for him to observe.
“Back in the 20s and 30s, people had this thing about seances,” explained Janis Webb. “People would have them and they would hire mystics, people that were wealthy that is. It was a big thing after World War I, they were very interested in life after death and what happened to people. They were very serious about it and the author of Blithe Spirit, Noël Coward, wanted to make a comedy out of it.”
Blithe Spirit is considered a comedy classic. Coward includes some unexpected twists in his play, which we won't reveal. But they almost all revolve around the medium that Charles invites over to his dinner party, Madame Arcati.
“My character comes from a line of mystic women,” explained Strimple. “Her mother before her was a medium and so she grew up in a household full of that attitude. She’s not a gypsy, and she’s not a fortune teller absolutely not! We are trying not to play her that way. We are trying to portray her as a townswoman who is in touch with the spirit world. If you saw her on the street you wouldn’t really know she was a madam. These séance meetings have what's called a control on the other side that works with the medium to reach out to see if there was anyone on the other side that would like to speak to someone at the table. In this case, at the dinner party.”
Janis Webb has previously acted in Blithe Spirit twice, and always thought that she might like to direct it someday. She was asked to direct this production by Don Bluth and she said yes. Even though this play is around 80 years old, she still finds it so appealing.
“It is such a well-written funny play, with strong female roles,” stated Webb. “And I think people are still very interested in ghost stories. I think it strikes a note with people and there is a lot of comedy in that. It continues to be popular because of the theme and Noel Coward, he is one of the most brilliant playwrights ever. His comedy stands the test of time because of his writing.”
It’s true that Noël Coward was a brilliant playwright, who also wrote brilliant female roles. According to Strimple and Webb, Madam Arcati is an iconic popular role that women want to perform. Over 20 women auditioned for Webb, just for the role of Madame Arcati.
“This is a bucket list role!” Joy laughed. “For audiences who don’t know what I mean, there are roles or parts out there that women of a certain age yearn to play before they pass on to the other theatre in the sky. And this is one of them! She’s really off the charts and it’s a lot of fun to play her.”
Madam Arcati has been a desired role for a long time. A certain trend that developed, however, was in some past production of Blithe Spirit, Madam Arcati was played by a man. However Noël Coward did not write Madam Arcati to be performed by a man, and Webb took that into account when she was casting.
“I think the part is written for a woman,” explained Webb. “And it is a travesty to allow a man to have one of these fabulous female parts that women wait forever to get to play. The 21 women I had lined up for auditions would have been very sad (if I'd cast a man). And it’s not staying true to the playwright! Strong woman parts belong to strong women, period.”
Madam Arcarti is a medium but not exactly a gypsy as Strimple has previously explained. She is unique and eccentric, using a bicycle as her mode of transportation. She wears flowy outfits and wears jewelry when she conducts a séance.
“She is deadly serious, but the things that she does are amusing to the dinner guests,” Strimple explained. “That’s what makes it fun. You always play comedy dead serious and if the writer is good, then the audience will laugh at their predicament at their challenges and at their attitude. That’s what you hope for.”
Strimple added, “I think the message in the play is to never doubt yourself, and never give up on your ideas. Our past tells us what errors we’ve made, what mistakes we’ve done. Essentially what Noël Coward is trying to tell us is just keep going. Don’t give up, keep going, everything will be okay, trust yourself.”
Webb also wished audiences will come and be thoroughly entertained with laughter filling up the room. Blithe Spirit is sure to be a hit production with a talented cast and huge twists that audiences will love.
CLICK HERE for more information on Blithe Spirit, which runs March 21st-May 4th at the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre.
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