The veil is thinnest near Halloween, and through it, Noël Coward’s haunting play Blithe Spirit has returned with a bewitching ensemble. Coward’s razor-sharp 1941 comedy blurs the boundaries between the living and the dead, the dignified and the ridiculous. In keeping with British propriety, I arrived at Gunston Theatre Two in a modest black dress, my evil-eye necklace tucked underneath, ready for mischief.

Novelist Charles Condomine (Eric Kennedy) invites a medium to his home as research for a book about a fraudulent psychic. Even before the arrival of the mystical Madame Arcati (Meghan Williams Elkins), the memory of his first wife, Elvira (Mary Rodrigues), haunts his second marriage with Ruth (Fosse Thornton). The pair engage in a battle of wits, the usual manner of conflict between Coward’s characters. Prompted by Ruth’s green-eyed curiosity, Condomine compares his wives, admitting Elvira’s superior sensuality but lamenting her moral untidiness, unlike Ruth, whose “good breeding” and stiff-upper-lip bring peace to their lives. They are joined by the honorable Dr. Bradman (Stephen Wheeler) and his chirpy wife, Mrs. Bradman (Karey Hart), who want in on the amusement of Madame Arcati’s seance, which they all believe to be a farce. Yet, it is their marriage that becomes a farce when Elvira returns as a poltergeist. 

In his memoir, Graham Payne quotes Coward describing Blithe Spirit as a heartless play: “You can’t sympathise with any of them. If there was a heart it would be a sad story.” This vital lack of sentimentality relies on tongue-in-cheek performances. I applaud the cast for their humorous, lively renditions of Coward’s beloved characters.

Kennedy’s elastic movements could portray the smugness of a debonair writer or the anxious agitation of a henpecked husband with just his eyebrows. He sparked chemistry with both actresses portraying Ruth and Elvira, whose contrasting energies might have thrown off a less experienced leading man. A stiff demeanor and sharp delivery characterized Thornton’s Ruth. Her head swiveled in displeasure as she spewed icy commands, while her body remained in perfect placement — hands folded, ankles crossed — the very picture of composure. Rodrigues as Elvira was more spectacle than spectre. She flitted through the second act, pouty-faced, fingers wiggling. Her performance in Act Three maintained its necessary silliness but grew more grounded, revealing Elvira’s earthy side.

To don the beads and scarves of Madame Arcati is coveted by many actors. Elkins wears the character like a well-fitted kimono jacket, whose jewels reflected glittering lights across the dark floor that followed her around like little spirits. She acted on the tips of her toes, gesticulating each line to its fullest, throwing herself into frenzies and songs. “Away with melancholy,” she cried, and away it went as the crowd became uproarious with laughter. 

Blithe Spirit is Alden Michels’s directorial debut with Dominion Stage. Best known for his work as an actor and dialect coach, Michels must have felt at home working with the varied English accents and funky inflections this play demands. Each character’s voice skillfully reflected their apparent selves. Ruth, whom Elvira teased for “not seeing past the end of her nose,” spoke in a nasal tone, pitched high in her throat. Dr. Bradman spoke low, staying deep in his chest to produce a sensible and decisive voice, perhaps to protect the vulnerable skeptic within. This attention to detail showcases Michels’s experience with the vocal aspects of the performing arts, extending well beyond musicals.

A play like Blithe Spirit cannot be fully realized without a hard-working tech crew orchestrating blink-and-you’ll-miss-it lighting effects along with spine-chilling cues that give the audience a taste of the other realm. The set had a campier aesthetic than I was familiar with: pink pinstriped walls paired with grandma’s floral wallpaper, baroque wooden chairs, and bookshelves laden with miniature paintings of upper-class women in domestic settings. This gaudy design lent credence to Elvira’s claim that since moving in, Ruth had “ruined the place.” A touch of realism in the whimsical world of Blithe Spirit.

Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes, including two 10-minute intermissions. 

Blithe Spirit plays through November 8, 2025, presented by Dominion Stage, performing at Gunston Theatre Two, 2700 S Lang St, Arlington, VA. Purchase tickets ($30 for general admission) at the door or online. 

Blithe Spirit
By Noël Coward
Directed by Alden Michels

CAST
Charles: Eric Kennedy
Ruth: Fosse Thornton
Elvira: Mary Rodrigues
Madame Arcati: Meghan Williams Elkins
Mrs. Bradman: Karey Hart
Dr. Bradman: Stephen Wheeler
Edith, U/S Ruth: Katie Barnett
U/S Charles: Michael McCarthy

PRODUCTION STAFF
Executive Producer: Brianna Goode
Producer: Andrew Goldman
Director: Alden Michels
Asst. Director: Mel Gumina
Stage Manager: Maureen Dawson
Asst. Stage Manager: Maggi Richard
Lighting Designer: Andrew Harasty
Special Effects Designer: Allison Gray-Mendes
Special Effects Designer: Adam Ressa
Sound Designer: Janice Rivera
Costume Designer: Joan Lawrence
Hair & Makeup Designer: Maureen Roult
Set Designer: Julie Fischer
Master Carpenter: Julie Fischer
Props Designer: Emma Bowers
Set Dresser: Emma Bowers
Intimacy Choreographer: Brianna Goode

The post Dominion Stage’s ‘Blithe Spirit’ channels the wicked humor of Noël Coward appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

The suffragist movement, like many fights for civil liberties, is often presented as a straightforward victory. A relay race to the top of The Hill, where Man was waiting with open arms to claim Woman as equal. Famous female activists like Dr. Anna Howard Shaw and Ida B. Wells are placed into a fairytale where all womankind unite to pass the 19th Amendment and then live happily ever after. What’s the real story? Pipeline Playwrights’ It’s My Party! takes a stab at the truth. Written by Ann Timmons and directed by Rikki Howie Lacewell, the play examines the rivalry between the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the National Women’s Party (NWP). But this is no objective history lesson. Alice Paul, founder of NWP, is the heroine, fighting a war on two fronts: the men who hoard political power and the women willing to play their games. 

It’s My Party! opens on an empty table, center stage, filled only with the disembodied voices of congressmen. “Yay.” “Nay.” It’s 1919, and the suffragists listen on the sidelines with bated breath as Congress votes on the 19th Amendment. On one side, the women of NAWSA; on the other, the women of the NWP. The House passes the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, and the respective attitudes of the actresses reveal where the pendulum swings in this retelling. 

Pat Nicklin’s haughty portrayal of Carrie Chapman Catt gives the character the acerbic aura of a wicked stepmother. Catt indulges in a smug, self-gratifying celebration. She will be the one to greet the press, not Alice and her “hooligans.” Sarah Millard embodies the fiery temperament of Lucy Burns, Alice’s right-hand woman. Every time she wrinkled her nose with joy or threw back her head in outrage, I too was carried away by the ferocity of her emotions. 

The NWP are indignant at the reduction of their importance in achieving women’s suffrage. Their complaints felt meta, as did much of the play’s dialogue, and this self-awareness of its own relevance was the production’s greatest strength. As Alice Paul, Marissa Liotta captured the audience’s unwavering attention with passionate calls to action that stiffened the spines of everyone present. Sonja Dinkins, portraying Ida B. Wells-Barnett, created an imposing presence with a steely cadence, delivering each sentence as a verbal strike. These riveting performances were aided by scenes dense with standout lines, such as “Middle-class white women think they can change the world by themselves — it’s almost funny.” 

The play jumps between important moments and locations in women’s suffrage history. Its timeline does more than highlight key points; it makes an argument. After the initial confrontation in 1919, we’re taken back to 1912, when these great minds clash for the first time. The women take center stage now. We see younger versions of Alice and Lucy join NAWSA, believing they can shift the organization’s methods from state lobbying toward direct participation, which Lucy proclaims “is the only way to get things done.” The rest is history, and the throughline is Alice’s journey. 

Timmons’ script humanizes Alice more than the other women. Beyond Alice’s monologues, presented as prayers and private musings, we’re granted full access to her mind through hallucinations as she withers away in a psychiatric ward. Her health episodes get the red-light treatment; meanwhile, Lucy’s mental breakdown is overshadowed by the disappointment her leave causes Alice. 

Liz Weber’s Dr. Shaw, costumed in silver hair and gray, metallic clothing, is a relic of the past to be discarded, which happens without mention as she quietly disappears from the narrative. Dr. Shaw is portrayed as an outdated idea rather than a person. Her successor, Catt, embodies this same idea toward the end of the play, both in wardrobe (transitioning from earth tones to grayscale, costumes by Marty Van Kleeck) and in words. “You’ve set us back months, if not years,” they each say on separate occasions to Alice and Lucy, bookmarking the play with their anti-radical sentiments. 

Ida is perhaps the most conceptual character, representing the entirety of Black women’s suffrage and the racial tensions within the movement. The Ida we see must exist within the boundaries of a story that centers on white achievement; therefore, she is angry and nothing else. 

I do, however, understand the overall lack of complexity in the characters. Director Rikki Howie Lacewell has often said she encourages actors to “go to the door, not through the door.” I see that here, in the care taken to bring historical figures to life in a way that honors the voices they’re known for. It’s My Party! doesn’t push its heroines into the realm of historical fiction. Instead, it stands in that doorway, inviting the audience to look back at the real women who opened it first. 

Running Time: One hour and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. 

It’s My Party! plays through October 26, 2025, presented by Pipeline Playwrights performing at Theatre on the Run, 3700 S Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington, VA. Purchase tickets ($33 for general admission and student tickets for $23) online. 

The digital program is downloadable here.

Lighting Design by Alana Isaac; Set Design by Justin Nepomuceno; Costume Design by Marty Van Kleeck; Composer and Musician: Rick Bassett; Costume Coordinator and Artist: Maria V. Bissex

The post The riveting real story behind the 19th Amendment, in ‘It’s My Party!’ appeared first on DC Theater Arts.