Last Weekend for Fringe’s “Blithe Spirit,” Noel Coward Classic 

Don’t miss out on your last chance to see Blithe Spirit, the Fringe Theater’s production of Noël Coward’s witty play about married love. The last weekend for Blithe Spirit is January 26-31. The play is staged in the transformed Parish Hall of St. Paul’s Church (401 Duval St. in Key West).  Curtain is at 8pm.  

Blithe Spirit was a smash comedy hit of the London and Broadway stages, a much revived classic from the playwright of Private Lives. Sir Noël Peirce Coward (1899 – 1973) was an English playwright, composer, actor, and singer who dazzled audiences on both sides of the pond with his entertaining insights into love and society. Blithe Spirit is Coward’s sly sendup of a ménage a trois with a macabre twist, when a re-married novelist-socialite finds himself literally haunted by his “morally untidy” first wife.   

Peter King directs an outstanding ensemble including: Vanessa McCaffrey as medium Madame Arcati, Justin Ahearn as beleaguered Charles, Bridget Chebo as the fiery Elvira, Caroline Taylor as uptight Ruth, Kitty Clements as the devilish Edith, and Tony Konrath and Tammy Shanley as friends Dr. and Mrs. Bradman.  

When Blithe Spirit was revived on Broadway in 2009, Angela Lansbury won a Tony for her portrayal of Madame Arcati, “a very self-serious medium on the prowl for vibrations from the spirit world” (NY Times). 

“You can expect the un-Expected in this unforgettable theater experience with a FRINGE twist!” says Producing Artistic Director, Monnie King.  

The fun begins when the eccentric clairvoyant is invited into the home of cantankerous novelist Charles Condomine to conduct a séance. With the help of his second wife, Charles hopes to expose the medium as a fraud. Instead, the session goes amiss, and his first wife Elvira returns from the grave. His marriage to prudish Ruth is thrown into mayhem, which keeps the audience hooting and howling.   

The most popular of Coward’s plays, Blithe Spirit caused a sensation when it was first seen in 1941. It created a new long-run record for non-musical British plays, with nearly 2000 performances.  It ran on Broadway for several years, was adapted for television and radio, and enjoys regular revivals.  In 1945 it was adapted as a movie starring Rex Harrison and directed by David Lean.  

Don’t miss the mischief afoot in the Fringe’s production of Blithe Spirit in St. Paul’s Parish Hall. Tickets are available at or at www.fringetheater.org or (305) 707-4053 or keystix.com or 305-296-7676   

Fringe Theater of Key West is a non-profit theater that creates, educates, and entertains with classic and innovative intimate theater. The five-year-old theater is supported by The Florida Keys Council of the Arts, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, the Dogwood Foundation, Keys Energy, and private donors. For more information, go to www.fringetheater.org. 

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