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Judy Richter

Judy Richter

Sep 24 2012
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Director’s reimagination goes astray in “Hamlet”

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

The motto of California Shakespeare Theater is “Reimagining the classics.” With its production of “Hamlet,” however, director Liesl Tommy may be stretching the reimagination a bit too far with her concept. If one doesn’t read the program notes, one might not realize that she sees it as a memory play in which “the structure (Elsinore Castle) has outlived its inhabitants and is now a haunted place.”

Likewise, it might take a while for an observer to realize that the main part of the set by Clint Ramos (who also designed the modern-day costumes) is an empty swimming pool, strewn as it is with all sorts of clutter and set pieces. And as some directors are wont to do with William Shakespeare, Tommy eliminates characters — most notably Fortinbras — and rearranges scenes. Thus Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy is not a soliloquy but rather a rumination as Ophelia lies in his arms.

The essence of the story is intact, however, as Hamlet (Leroy McClain) is horrified that just two months after the death of his father, king of Denmark, his mother, Gertrude (Julie Eccles), has married his father’s brother, Claudius (Adrian Roberts). In those days, such a marriage was considered incestuous, let alone unduly hasty. As if this weren’t enough, Hamlet encounters the ghost of his father (Roberts again), who says that Claudius murdered him and that Hamlet must avenge the death. Thus begins Hamlet’s equivocation.

In short order, he feigns madness, shuns Ophelia (Zainab Jah), accidentally murders Ophelia’s father, Polonius (Dan Hiatt), leading to Ophelia’s madness and another string of tragedies that leave the stage littered with bodies at the end. If this “Hamlet” is a memory play, then perhaps it plays out in the memories of Hamlet’s steadfast friend, Horatio (Nick Gabriel), who witnesses nearly every scene even when the script doesn’t require him to be onstage. He’s the only major character who survives.

Despite some questionable directoral choices, the cast is solid, especially Eccles, Gabriel, Hiatt and Nicholas Pelczar as Laertes. Ably filling lesser roles are Danny Scheie as Osric and the Player King, Mia Tagano as the Player Queen and a doctor, Jessica Kitchens as Rosencrantz, Brian Rivera as Guildenstern and others, and Joseph Salazar as Marcellus.

As for McClain as Hamlet, he is directed to become too emotional, while Roberts is a too monster-like as the ghost of Hamlet’s father. And Jah’s Ophelia goes way over the top in her insanity.

Peter West’s lighting is effective, as is Jake Rodriguez’s sound, which includes some hit tunes from the 1960s. Dave Maier is the fight director.

No doubt because “Hamlet” is one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays — the source of many familiar lines and expressions — it has been extended for a week due to strong demand for tickets. Audiences won’t exactly be disappointed, but they won’t be seeing the best example of this classic.

“Hamlet” continues through Oct. 21. For tickets and information, call (510) 548-9666 or visit www.calshakes.org.

Sep 24 2012
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“The Other Place” examines mysteries of dementia

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

Confident, well groomed and well spoken, an eminent research scientist is in the Virgin Islands lecturing a group doctors about a product she developed that could be a breakthrough in the treatment of dementia. Although the word “Alzheimer’s” is never used, it’s clearly a focus in “The Other Place,” the Sharr White drama receiving its West Coast premiere at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre.

The speaker is 52-year-old Juliana Smithton (Henny Russell), who finds herself more and more distracted by a young woman in a yellow bikini in the back row. From there the mystery heightens and the action shifts among several settings and time periods as well as between reality and Juliana’s imagination — or perhaps hallucinations. What she tells a neurobiologist, Dr. Cindy Teller (Carrie Paff, who’s listed as The Woman in the program), differs from what is said by her husband, Ian Smithton (Donald Sage Mackay), an oncologist.

Perhaps the problems started 10 years ago when Laurel (Paff), the 15-year-old daughter of Juliana and Ian, disappeared one night and never was seen again. She may or may not have run off with or been abducted by Richard Sillner (Patrick Russell, listed as The Man in the program), Juliana’s post-doc assistant at the time.

“The Other Place” may have two meanings. One is literal — the Smithtons’ cottage on Cape Cod. The other is figurative — wherever Juliana’s mind goes as some sort of dementia sets in. Juliana calls it “the great darkness.” White skillfully takes the audience between them as more truths emerge.

Director Loretta Greco, the Magic’s producing artistic director, and her talented cast carefully navigate this difficult emotional journey. Henny Russell is riveting as her Juliana tries to make sense of what’s happening and tries to convince others around her that her perceptions are real. She’s well balanced by Mackay as her supportive husband, Ian, who can be seen as the truth-teller. Paff makes Dr. Teller a competent professional. She’s also makes a convincing transition as a woman who’s outraged to find Juliana in the cottage but who soon perceives what might be happening and kindly appeases Juliana in the play’s most touching scene.

Although the set by Myung Hee Cho, who also designed the costumes, works for the first half of the intermissionless play, it has problems in the second half. That’s when a white screen across the stage opens to reveal the cottage. Unfortunately, though, the cottage’s side walls block the view of people seated on the right and left sides of the stage. Consequently, — unless they have access to the script — they have no idea what is happening in the very last scene. Otherwise, Eric Southern’s lighting, Brandon Wolcott’s sound and composition, and Hana Sooyeon Kim’s video design complement the production.

“The Other Place” is scheduled for a Broadway production by the Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in December. If the Magic production is any indication, it should be a success as it examines the toll of dementia as well as the mysteries of a decade-old family tragedy.

The Magic Theatre production will continue through Oct. 7. For tickets and information, call (415) 441-8822 or visit www.magictheatre.org.

Sep 22 2012
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“The Normal Heart” timely after more than 2 decades

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter
When Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart” opened in New York in 1985, knowledge about AIDS was growing but still sadly lacking. Today, even though drugs have been found to control it, there still is no real cure, nor is there a vaccine to prevent it. In the meantime, the worldwide death toll has grown to more than 30 million, and an estimated 33.3 million people, including 1.3 million Americans, are living with HIV/AIDS. Hence the 2011 Tony-winning revival seems necessary and timely, as evidenced by the Arena Stage production that has come to San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater.

Taking place between July 1981 and May 1984 in New York City, the plot focuses on a gay writer, Ned Weeks (Patrick Breen), who has become aware of a mysterious illness that is claiming the lives of gay men. When he talks with a doctor, Emma Brookner (Jordan Baker), who has been treating men with the illness, she has no answers. She doesn’t know what causes it, let alone how to treat it, cure it or prevent it. However, she suspects that gay men’s sexual activities play a large role in its spread. She tells Ned (a stand-in for the playwright) to tell gay men to stop having sex.

She might as well advise telling them to stop breathing. Sexual freedom has become a way of life, indeed a part of their identity. Still, Ned looks for ways to help. He and some other gay men form a group intended to provide support and resources for their afflicted brothers. However, their efforts are thwarted in several ways.

One is that government officials, the public health establishment and the mainstream press are virtually ignoring the epidemic. Ned believes they do so because gay men are not readily acceptable. He believes that if a similar crisis were confronting straight people, all sorts of resources would be unleashed.

Another problem is that most of the other men in his group are closeted. They fear losing their jobs if it were known that they’re gay. Then there’s Ned himself. He’s outspoken, abrasive, confrontational, leading to conflict within the group and alienating those who could exert some influence to help.

In the meantime, more men are becoming ill, including Ned’s lover, Felix Turner (Matt McGrath), a fashion writer for the New York Times. Some of Ned’s colleagues relate wrenching stories about the fate of their friends and loved ones.

When Berkeley Repertory Theatre presented “The Normal Heart” in June 1986, the San Francisco Bay Area was still reeling from the crisis. Leaning on canes or a friend, frail-looking young men with purple lesions (Kaposi’s sarcoma) on their skin could be seen at various public events like plays and the opera. Today, the revival of that play evokes sad memories of that tragic time. My review of that production concluded: ” ‘The Normal Heart’ isn’t an easy play to watch. Nevertheless, it’s an important play, one that moves its audience and provokes deep, disturbing thought about a social climate and crisis that could remain in the forefront for a long time.”

Now, 26 years later, the social climate is gradually changing for gays, but AIDS still remains a significant public health challenge, especially given the high expense of the drugs used to treat it. Gay marriage, depicted in the play, is still outlawed in most areas.

This revival, directed by George C. Wolfe, features a standout cast, led by Breen as the angry Ned Weeks and featuring Baker as Emma Brookner, the wheelchair-using physician who contracted polio three months before the introduction of the Salk vaccine. Besides McGrath as Felix, the cast also features Michael Berresse as Mickey Marcus, Nick Mennell as Bruce Niles, Bruce Altman as Ben Weeks (Ned’s straight brother), Sean Dugan as Tommy Boatwright, and Tom Berklund, Patrick Alparone and Jon Levenson in various minor roles.

The set is by David Rockwell with costumes by the late Martin Pakledinaz, lighting by David Weiner, music and sound by David Van Tieghem and projections by Batwin + Robin Productions. Leah C. Gardiner is the restaging director.

More than history, “The Normal Heart” is a cogent reminder of the need for people to be aware of how AIDS is transmitted and to try to prevent contracting it or spreading it. In a letter given to theatergoers after the play and in ACT’s “Words on Plays” publication, the still-crusading, still-angry Kramer has this to say, among other things: “Please know that all efforts at prevention and education continue their unending record of abject failure. … Please know that this is a plague that need not have happened. Please know that this is a plague that has been allowed to happen.”

“The Normal Heart” continues through Oct. 7. For tickets and information call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act-sf.org.

Sep 08 2012
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Hero retreats in “Death of the Novel”

By Judy Richter

Traumatized by losing several loved ones over the years and by seeing people leap from the Twin Towers on 9/11, a brilliant young novelist has retreated to the perceived safety of his New York apartment for the past two years.

That’s the premise of “The Death of the Novel” by Jonathan Marc Feldman, being given its world premiere by San Jose Repertory Theatre to open its 33rd season..

When we meet the novelist, 26-year-old Sebastian Justice (Vincent Kartheiser of TV’s “Mad Men”), he’s talking with the psychotherapist ordered by his agent in hopes of ending his writer’s block and overcoming his agoraphobia. Much as Perry (Amy Pietz) tries, though, she can’t break through his cynical, sarcastic barriers. He might also be overwhelmed by the success of his first novel and afraid of not equaling it.

Also unable to break through Sebastian’s barriers are his longtime friend, Philip (Patrick Kelly Jones), and a hopeful writer, Claire (Zarah Mahler), an expensive hooker who visits him weekly. Actually, she doesn’t try to break through. She’s just an outlet for him.

Not until the lovestruck Philip introduces him to his latest girlfriend, the beautiful, mysterious Sheba (Vaishnavi Sharma), does Sebastian gradually reveal his feelings. And even then, it takes a long time, well into the second act, for him to make much headway. In the meantime, he and Sheba have a terrific time during five weeks of playful fantasy.

Although artistic director Rick Lombardo has assembled a fine cast and paces the action well, the play tends to drag, especially in the first act when Sebastian is given to long speeches that can be repetitious. Consequently, he comes across as a smartass, making it difficult to care much about him. He’s more sympathetic in the second act, which works better because events unfold more quickly.

Sheba is an intriguing woman, especially when Sebastian goes to Google and Facebook and discovers she might not be the native Saudi woman she says she is. It turns out that she’s mentally disturbed, too, nurturing various delusions that may or may not make her dangerous. Certainly psychotherapist Perry warns Sebastian about her.

John Iacovelli has designed a handsome set of brick walls and an expanse of glass offering a view of the brick buildings across the street and the New York skyline behind that. The set also revolves to reveal Sebastian’s bedroom. The mood-setting lighting is by David Lee Cuthbert with smart costumes by Denitsa Bliznakova. The music and sound by Haddon Givens Kime generally work but can sometimes be intrusive.

If Feldman had made Sebastian seem a bit more concerned about his situation rather than so cynical in the first act, the play might work better overall. Still, the playwright does wrap things up rather nicely.

“The Death of the Novel” continues through Sept. 22. For tickets and information, call (408) 367-7255, or visit www.sjrep.com.

By Judy Richter

Sep 02 2012
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“Chad Deity” wrestles unsuccessfully with satire

By Judy Richter

Professional wrestling isn’t a sport. It’s entertainment, a form of theater in which each player has an assigned role, and each move and the outcome are scripted.

 That’s one of the messages in “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” by Kristoffer Diaz. Being given its Bay Area premiere by Aurora Theatre Company, this two-act work has a five-male cast, but it’s essentially a monologue. The speaker is Macedonio “The Mace” Guerra (Tony Sancho), a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who has loved what he calls this art form ever since he and his two brothers watched it on TV in their New York City home.

Now he’s employed by THE Wrestling, a promotional company run by Everett K. “EKO” Olson (Rod Gnapp). Mace’s role calls for him to make his opponent look better than he and to allow his opponent to win. He takes on an entrepreneurial role when he encountersVigneshwar “VP” Paduar (Nasser Khan), an athletic Indian American man whom Mace’s brothers met through impromptu basketball games.

 EKO agrees to put VP in the ring, but promotes him as a potential Muslim terrorist and eventually puts him up against THE Wrestling’s champion, Chad Deity (Beethovan Oden), an egotistical black man. Before going up against Chad, though, VP is matched up with The Bad Guy, Billy Heartland and Old Glory, all played by Dave Maier, who also serves as fight director. Maier also warms up the audience before the show by telling observers how to react to various characters.

 Billed as a social satire, “Chad Deity” plays on racial and ethnic stereotypes, but it doesn’t work well. Except for The Mace, none of the characters is anyone the audience can care about, and the plot isn’t all that interesting either, unless – perhaps – one is a fan of professional wrestling. The script is loaded with obscenities and other street language.

 Jon Tracy directs the talented cast and orchestrates the action well. Nina Ball’s set features a wrestling ring and two giant video screens within Aurora’s intimate thrust stage. The videos are designed by Jim Gross with lighting by Kurt Landisman and costumes by Maggie Whitaker. The sound – often deafeningly loud – is by Cliff Caruthers.

Aurora usually presents interesting, provocative plays, but “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity” falls short on both accounts.

 It continues through Sept. 30. For tickets and information, call (510) 843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org.

 

 

Aug 30 2012
Love0

War-weary journalists reach critical crossroads in “Time Stands Still”

By Judy Richter

Critically injured by a roadside bomb inIraq, a photojournalist returns home to herBrooklyn loft to recuperate. She’s accompanied by her longtime live-in lover, a foreign correspondent who has witnessed the horrors of combat, too. As they try to recover, they look closely at their relationship and consider the future.

Thus Donald Margulies’ “Time Stands Still” unfolds in TheatreWorks’  riveting regional premiere.

 Her left arm in a sling, her left leg braced, her right arm using a crutch and her body scarred, Rebecca Dines plays the photojournalist, Sarah Goodwin.  Mark Anderson Phillips portrays her lover, James Dodd. In her richly nuanced performance, Dines conveys Sarah’s physical and emotional pain, while Phillips slowly reveals the strains of James’s post-traumatic stress disorder.

 They’re occasionally visited by another couple, Richard Ehrlich (Rolf Saxon) and Mandy Bloom (Sarah Moser). A longtime friend of Sarah and James, Richard also is a magazine photo editor who has professional ties to them. Mandy is his new girlfriend, much younger and — initially — quite naive, even ditzy.

 Over the several months covered by the play, however, Moser shows that Mandy is a stronger, more complex woman than meets the eye. Saxon’s Richard is both tactful and caring with his two friends and loving with Mandy.

 Eventually Sarah and James reach a crossroads in their relationship, when they must decide what to do next. Both gain insight into their careers. “I live off the suffering of strangers,” Sarah laments. Nevertheless, she seems to thrive on the adventure and to believe idealistically that the images she captures can somehow make a difference.

Under the expert guidance of director Leslie Martinson, all four actors contribute to the brilliance of this fascinating play and production. Although Erik Flatmo’s high-ceilinged set swallows a few lines, it does capture the ambience of an urban loft. The costumes are by Anna R. Oliver with lighting by Michael Palumbo and sound by Gregory Robinson. The makeup artist isn’t credited but deserve kudos for Dines’s realistic-looking wounds.

 “Time Stands Still” continues at the Mountain ViewCenterfor the Performing Arts through Sept. 16. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

Aug 28 2012
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Shakespeare and lots more in Ashland

By Judy Richter

With the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in full swing, it’s possible to spend a week in Ashland,OR, and see a total of nine plays in three theaters — two of them indoors, the other outdoors.

 

On the outdoor Elizabethan Stage (modeled on the Old Globe where William Shakespeare premiered most of his works), the lineup features the Bard’s “Henry V” and “As You Like It” plus the world premiere of Alison Carey’s “The Very Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa,” based on the Bard’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” through the second weekend in October.

 The indoor Angus Bowmer Theatre (named after the festival’s founding artistic director) is offering four works through the first weekend in November: Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” plus “Animal Crackers” by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind; “Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella,” Tracy Young and artistic director Bill Rauch’s combination-adaptation of Euripides’ “Medea,” Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Rodgers and <B>Hammerstein’s “Cinderella”; and the world premiere of Robert Schenkkan’s “All the Way.”

 The smaller, more intimate New Theatre has the final two offerings: Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida” and the world premiere of UNIVERSES’s “Party People.” The two shows that have already closed (the season begins in late February) are artistic director emeritus Libby Appel’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and the world premiere of “The White Snake,” Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of a classic Chinese fable. The latter production will be seen as part of Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s 2012-13 season.

 While the play’s the thing in Ashland, this Southern Oregon city also has an array of restaurants from casual to white tablecloth, interesting shops, the beautiful and adjacent Lithia Park, nearby wineries and numerous outdoor recreational activities.

My most recent visit there was all too short, so I was able to see only two plays, as follows:

ALL THE WAY

As it did with “Party People,” the festival commissioned Robert Schenkkan’s “All the Way” as part of its American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle. This 10-year program of commissioning up to 37 plays aims to explore moments of change in U.S. history.

 “All the Way” focuses on the approximately 11 months between the time that Lyndon Baines Johnson became president upon the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, and Johnson’s election victory in early November 1964.

 The first act concentrates on Johnson’s efforts to secure congressional passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act, while the second looks primarily at his efforts to defeat Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater ofArizonaat the polls. (The title comes from Johnson’s election slogan, “All the way with LBJ.”) There’s also a whiff of the seeds of the Vietnam War in a brief mention of the Gulf of Tonkin incident and mention of the War on Poverty, a centerpiece of Johnson’s elected term in office.

 This production features Jack Willis as LBJ. Even though he calls himself “the accidental president,” Johnson was an outsized figure who used every trick in the book — from flattery to threats — to achieve his goals. Willis embodies this temperamental, wily Texan without actually imitating him. It’s a tour de force performance.

 Others in the excellent ensemble cast play a variety of characters, most of whom were household names to those of us who remember those turbulent times. Terri McMahon plays LBJ’s long-suffering, loyal wife, Lady Bird Johnson, as well as Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham. Christopher Liam Moore is featured as another long-suffering, loyal confidante, aide Walter Jenkins, who had to resign in disgrace after being caught in a romantic encounter with another man. Ironically, the person who brought this incident to LBJ’s attention was FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Richard Elmore), who later was outed himself.

 Also featured are Peter Frechette as Sen. Hubert Humphrey and Sen. Strom Thurmond; Mark Murphey as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and others; Jonathan Haugen as Alabama Gov. George Wallace and others; David Kelley as Sen. Everett Dirksen and others; Douglas Rowe as Sen. Richard Russell and others; and Erica Sullivan as Lurleen Wallace and Muriel Humphrey.

 In his efforts to pass the Civil Rights Act, LBJ tried to enlist prominent black leaders, who didn’t necessarily agree about what was being proposed. They are portrayed by Daniel T. Parker as Stanley Levison of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Kenajuan Bentley as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., SCLC co-founder; Tyrone Wilson as the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, SCLC co-founder; Derrick Lee Weeden as Roy Wilkins, executive director of the NAACP; Kevin Kenerly as Bob Moses, co-director of the Council of Federated Organizations, and David Dennis, a leader of the Congress of Racial Equality; Wayne T. Carr as Stokely Carmichael, an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and others; and Gina Daniels as Coretta Scott King and Fannie Lou Hamer, a SNCC organizer who was arrested and beaten for trying to register Southern blacks to vote.

 One prominent person who doesn’t appear in the play but who is mentioned several times is Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the slain president’s younger brother and someone whom Johnson privately despised.

 Schenkkan packs a lot of history and people into the play’s three hours, but it all works well, especially with Willis at the center. His LBJ may come across asTexashomespun and often humorous, but he was as shrewd and effective a politician and leader as ever sat in Oval Office. Credit for this play’s success also goes to artistic director Bill Rauch, who directed it. His artistic team includes scenic designer Christopher Acebo, costume designer Deborah M. Dryden, lighting designer Mark McCullough, projections designer Shawn Sagady and composer-sound designer Paul James Prendergast.

 ANIMAL CRACKERS

 In contrast to “All the Way,” George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind’s “Animal Crackers” is sheer fluff, though expertly contrived fluff. Reconceived from an adaptation by Henry Wishcamper, with music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, “Animal Crackers” was a vehicle for the zany antics of the Marx brothers — Groucho, Zeppo,Chicoand Harpo.

 This two-act, 1928 work is set in an estate on New York’s Long Island. The plot, superfluous as it is, centers around a society matron’s efforts to honor an African explorer and to display a painting by a prominent artist, while her social rival tries to sabotage her efforts.

 The real sabotage, however, comes from the characters originally played by the Marx brothers. Mark Bedard plays the explorer, Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding, the Groucho character, complete with thick eyebrows, mustache and trademark walk. Eddie Lopez is Horatius Jamison, the Zeppo character, and others; John Tufts (alternating with Daisuke Tsuji) plays artist Emanuel Ravelli, the Chico character; and Brent Hinkley is The Professor, the blithely silent Harpo character.

 Also featured are Jonathan Haugen as Hives the butler and Roscoe W. Chandler, an arts patron; K.T. Vogt as hostess Mrs. Rittenhouse; Mandie Jenson as Arabella Rittenhouse, her daughter; Kate Mulligan as Mrs. Whitehead, Mrs. Rittenhouse’s rival; Jeremy Peter Johnston as several characters; and Laura Griffith as two characters.<P>

Allison Narver directs this hilarious romp with a sure hand, taking the antics just to the comic edge without allowing them to get out of hand. Scenic designer Richard L. Hay’s set features a lovely Art Deco proscenium in front and a platform for a five-member onstage band in back  (David O> is musical director).

 The elegant costumes (at least for the social set) are by Shigeru Yaji, with lighting by Geoff Korf and sound by Matt Callahan. The musical stagings are by Patti Colombo.

 For tickets and information, call (800) 219-8161 or go to www.osfashland.org.

 

Aug 15 2012
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Get out the bubbly for “Blithe Spirit”

By Judy Richter

Like a light, bubbly glass of Champagne, there’s nothing quite like a well written, well executed comedy on a warm summer night. California Shakespeare Theater serves up just the right blend of the latter with its production of Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit,” adroitly directed by Mark Rucker.

With the setting sun turning the background hills to gold, Annie Smart’s gracious living room set transports the audience to Kent, England, in the late 1930s. That’s where successful author Charles Condomine (Anthony Fusco) and his wife, Ruth (Rene Augesen, are awaiting three dinner guests. One of those guests is Madame Arcati (Domenique Lozano), an eccentric local medium, who will conduct a seance. She doesn’t know that the evening’s real purpose is for Charles to gather information for his next book. The other two guests are a local physician, Dr. George Bradman (Kevin Rolston), and his wife, Violet (Melissa Smith).

The evening turns out to be far more eventful than Charles had bargained for because it results in the appearance of his first wife, Elvira (Jessica Kitchens), who has been dead for seven years. Complicating matters even more, only Charles can see her. Hence, when Charles makes some snappish replies to something Elvira says, Ruth thinks they’re directed at her and takes offense. As events continue to unfold, Elvira makes all sorts of mischief, resulting in Ruth’s joining her “on the other side” and making life miserable for Charles.

Rucker allows the pace to bubble along with its talented cast. Fusco is nicely understated as the heretofore unflappable Charles becomes more exasperated with Elvira. Augesen’s Ruth serves as the gracious hostess while dealing with difficulties on several fronts. Lozano is nothing short of hilarious as her bicycle-riding Madame Arcati goes through her elaborate preparations for the sance. This is a role that lends itself to overacting, but Lozano wisely knows where to draw the line. Kitchens is a slinky, sexy Elvira who reveals more of her true character along the way.

More comic antics come from Rebekah Brockman as Edith, the Condomines’ wide-eyed, fast-moving, slow-on-the-uptake maid. Rolston and Smith fulfill their auxiliary roles competently.

In addition to Smart’s attractive set, the three-act production is enhanced by Katherine Roth’s fashionable period costumes, York Kennedy’s lighting and Will McCandless’s compositions and sound.

Coward is said to have written “Blithe Spirit” in five days in 1941, when England was in the throes of war against Germany. One of his purposes was to buoy the spirits of his countrymen in those dire times. Apparently he succeeded on that front, for the play initially ran for 1,997 performances. Since then it has enjoyed numerous revivals, among them this lovely production by Cal Shakes.

Performances continue through Sept. 2 at the Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda, CA. For tickets and more information call (510) 548-9666 or go to www.calshakes.org.