(Le Mars) — After 10 months of being forced into “going dark,” the Le Mars Community Theatre is re-opening the Postal Playhouse doors to the public tonight.
The witty, wordy and playful classic “Blithe Spirit,” by Noel Coward, will be staged today through next Wednesday, May 6th.
This is the same show that was in rehearsals last summer when the Postal Playhouse ceiling collapsed due to the age of the building. And with the ceiling, came the lights. After months of cleaning, rebuilding and making decisions about a new lighting system, Blithe Spirit is back.
The show focuses on the character of Charles Condomine, an author who is gathering information for his next book about the occult. As part of the research he invites a wacky medium to his home for a dinner party, and the guests have a séance that accidentally brings back the ghost of his deceased wife. She is only sensed by Charles. His very alive second wife doesn’t believe that he is telling the truth about the haunting, and instead thinks he is actually losing his mind.
The cast is comprised of some of the original members from last summer and some new members, including: Joe Ouradnik, Beth Odor, Angela Riedeman, Rebecca Sparks, Renae Buss, George New and Diane Nusbaum. “Blithe Spirit’s” setting is usually represented in the 1940’s when the show was written, but this rendition has been pushed into the late 60’s by director Jennifer Scholten. Scholten wanted to incorporate a lot of furniture, décor and set pieces that lend themselves to that era. The production team is also led by Michael Donlin, serving as producer.
Tickets are still available for all performances of Blithe Spirit by visiting lemarslive.org. Show times are 7:30, with a 2pm matiness on Sunday. All seats are $20.
