Arts & Leisure
Combating winter with theatre: a few attractions
By Rose Safran
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - On a cold evening, this past weekend, at Portsmouth's Players' Ring we attended the Mad Dogs and Englishmen production of Noel Coward's time-tested, improbable farce, "Blythe Spirit," a tricky theatrical undertaking requiring the presence of a wifely ghost hovering about the stage, raising havoc to second-time-around husband-and-wife domesticity in an English country house.Under the direction of Tim Robinson, who has 53 years of directing and acting experience, the difficult task of maximizing the wit while keeping the ensuing chaos at bay was accomplished with more than a few pounds of the necessary panache. The play was originally written to liven up British spirits during World War II - and is considered one of Coward's finest.
It certainly has stood the test of time - and has nothing dated about it.
Here's the wild plot. Charles Condomine, a writer planning to use the occult in a book, has invited Madame Arcati, a medium, to his English country home, hoping for a few hints to broaden his knowledge of the subject from this flamboyant lady who is accomplished in the art of communicating with spirits. Charles's wife, Ruth, has arranged a dinner party, inviting another couple, Dr. and Mrs. Brackman. Also present is the Condomine's servant, a rather incompetent, comically impossible-to-train Edith.
A séance of sorts - complete with shaking table - takes place, during which Charles via his unconscious thoughts, brings forth the image of his deceased first wife, the beautiful Elvira, who is visible only to him. Charles, henceforth, acts and speaks like a madman.
Revealed are aspects of his personality as well as his relationships with these two women.
"To hell with Ruth," says conniving Elvira at the close of Act One; her naughty plan to snare Charles goes amok and Charles ultimately emerges, by a set of unpredictable circumstances, happily free of these two competing, controlling women. The talented cast included Thorpe Feidt who was Scrooge in this season's "Christmas Carol," Carol Davenport as the energetic vociferous and elaborately bejeweled Madame Arcati, Chris Curtis as hen-pecked Charles, Constance Witman as the ghost Elvira and Kristen Robinson as a frustrated Ruth.
The Players' Ring's small theater-in-the-round in a historic building that is now on the National Register of Historic Places provided a perfect setting for this fine parlor comedy In general, the small facility is given over to original productions by various companies.
On the upcoming agenda are, from March 2 to 18, "All He Had to do was Move the Car," a production from Blanchette and Elliott, which deals with one "Jonesy" who "killed himself because he couldn't handle his drug problem" and left behind a car $500 in arrears in a shop. From March 23 to April 8, in celebration of 25 years, Portsmouth's
Generic Theatre, the area's original amateur theatre group, will bring six one-act plays from their repertoire. From April 13 to 29, Opossum Theatre will bring "Lexington Green," which deals with 24 hours in a village during war and revolution.
Last year the Players' Ring, which is located at 105 Marcy St., launched its first membership campaign, which includes benefits such as reduced theater tickets. For further information, call (603) 436-8123.
In Portland, the Portland Stage Company's production of Michael Frayn's "Noises Off," another farce - really a play within a play, and not an easy one to handle - received much acclaim.
A great success on Broadway where it opened in 1982, it has gone non-stop around the world, and been made into a film featuring Michael Caine and Carol Burnett, among others. It deals with two plots: the first, an incompetent cast of actors who miss cues, don't know their lines, push each other on stage, drop props including sardines, while performing a play, most aptly called "Nothing On," all the while, the funniest action takes place back stage, where there is a real life play, "Noises Off," which includes pregnancy, an affair, drunkenness, etc. This inept company goes on tour, with further deterioration at each stage. It's slapstick comedy at its finest.
Opening this week and running through March 18 at the Portland Stage Company on Forest Avenue in Portland is American playwright James Still's "Iron Kisses," a new play that deals with family relationships.
Midwestern-born, and an alumnus of the University of Kansas, James Still is an award-winning director-playwright; some of his plays have been developed at Robert Redford's
Sundance Lab. This new play which deals with many current issues including growing old, divorce and family secrets essentially is a testimony to love in difficult circumstances; two actors portray the siblings and their own parents.
Also on the agenda from March 27 to April 22 in Portland is the much-acclaimed "Intimate Apparel" by Lynn Nottage, a playwright from Brooklyn, New York.
Winner of many awards including the 2004 New York Drama Critics Award, "Intimate Apparel" is the story of Esther Mills, an African-American seamstress working in New York City in 1905 who creates undergarments for wealthy customers, including a prostitute and a society woman. The seamstress creates exquisite lingerie, all the while hoping for a better life for herself, including marriage.
For further information, call 774-0465.
