Get all the top news & discounts for Washington, DC & beyond.
Following the internationally acclaimed production with sold-out engagements on Broadway and London's West End, television legend, Oscar recipient and five-time Tony Award®-winner Angela Lansbury returns to the stage in an exciting North American tour of Noël Coward's smash-hit comedic play, BLITHE SPIRIT. The tour makes its Washington premiere Tuesday, March 17 through Sunday, March 29 at the National Theatre, where Ms. Lansbury made her first pre-Broadway stage debut nearly 58 years ago to the day in Hotel Paradiso. Tickets will go on sale Friday, October 31.
Performances for BLITHE SPIRIT are set to begin Tuesday, December 9 at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles with an official opening on Sunday, December 14. Following the closing of the LA engagement on Sunday, January 18, the tour will continue on to SHN's Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco from Tuesday, January 20 through Sunday, February 1; and to Mirvish Productions' Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto fromTuesday, February 10 through Sunday, March 15. The tour concludes in Washington, where Ms. Lansbury has received such local honors as Signature Theatre's Sondheim Award in 2010, and the Helen Hayes Awards American Express Tribute in 1990.
Returning to the role of Madame Arcati, for which she won her fifth Tony Award® in 2009 for Best Featured Actress in a Play, Angela Lansbury ("Murder, She Wrote;" Sweeney Todd; Mame; "Gaslight") will be joined by an all-star cast including Charles Edwards ("Downton Abbey," The 39 Steps, Blithe Spirit - 2014 West End revival), Jemima Rooper("The Black Dahlia;" One Man, Two Guvnors; Blithe Spirit - 2014 West End revival) and Charlotte Parry (Coram Boy, The Importance of Being Earnest). The cast also includes Susan Louise O'Connor (What to Do When You Hate All Your Friends, Blithe Spirit - 2009 Broadway revival) and Sandra Shipley (Anything Goes, Blithe Spirit - 2009 Broadway revival). Additional casting will be announced in the coming days. The play is directed by two-time Tony Award-winnerMichael Blakemore (Kiss Me, Kate; Copenhagen).
"During the course of my career, I've had the good fortune to play many, many unique and wonderful roles in the movies, on stage and television," said Ms. Lansbury. "And it is a joy to once again step into the role of Madame Arcati, and bring Noël Coward's classic comedy Blithe Spirit to wonderful audiences here in North America who have supported me for over seven decades."
The creative team, led by two-time Tony Award®-winner Michael Blakemore, includes scenic and costume designs by Helen Hayes Award-winner Simon Higlett; Ms. Lansbury's costume designs by two-time Tony Award®-winner Martin Pakledinaz and sound design by Olivier Award-winners Ben and Max Ringham.
BLITHE SPIRIT, one of Noël Coward's most popular comedies, was first seen on Broadway in 1941, the same year it was produced in London where it set British box office records and was the longest running comedy (1,997 performances) until it was eventually surpassed by Boeing-Boeing in the 1970s. The original Broadway production played nearly two years and co-starred Leonora Corbett, Mildred Natwick, Clifton Webb and Peggy Wood. In 1987, it was revived on Broadway in an all-star production with Richard Chamberlain, Blythe Danner, Judith Ivey, and Geraldine Page, in her final Broadway appearance.
The latest revival on Broadway in 2009 was directed by Michael Blakemore and co-starred Angela Lansbury, Jayne Atkinson, Christine Ebersole, Rupert Everett, Simon Jones, and Susan Louise O'Connor. Following its critical acclaim and box office success on Broadway, Lansbury returned to the London stage after 40 years to reprise her Tony Award®-winning role. Also under the direction of Michael Blakemore and starring Angela Lansbury, the London revival opened at the Gielgud Theatre on March 18, 2014, and co-starred Janie Dee, Serena Evans, Charles Edwards, Patsy Ferran, Simon Jones, and Jemima Rooper.
Coward, in his autobiography, claimed he wrote the play in five days during a holiday. Only two lines of dialogue were removed before its first production in London.
Researching for his new novel, Charles Condomine invites the implausible medium Madame Arcati to his house for a séance. While consumed in a trance, Madame Arcati unwittingly summons the ghost of Charles' dead wife Elvira. Appearing only to Charles, Elvira soon makes a play to reclaim her husband, much to the chagrin of Charles' new wife Ruth. One husband, two feuding wives and a whisper of mischief in the air - who will win in Coward's unworldly comedy?
The North American tour of BLITHE SPIRIT is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Steve Traxler, Lee Dean, John Frost, Charles Diamond, and Will Trice in association with JAM Theatricals.
