Calliope carries off memorable `Spirit' 
Wednesday, October 16, 2002

By James A. Karis II
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE REVIEWER 

Theater Review 

BLITHE SPIRIT: A comedy by Noel Coward; produced by Dave Ludt and
Kathy Ludt; directed by Kathy Ludt; assistant direction and stage
management by Jessica Lynch; lighting, sound and set design by Dave
Ludt; costumes by Carole Saunders. Performances tomorrow, Friday and
Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Calliope Theatre, 150 Main
St., Boylston.

With Anna Cometa, Kelli Kalinowski, Brian McNamara, James Bronwell,
Pat Delano, Ruth Markind and Amanda Graves.  

BOYLSTON-- With Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit," Calliope Productions
has staged one of its best shows in recent memory.

If you can get past the show's epic running time of more than three
hours -- a factor owed chiefly to the playwright's verbosity -- you
have an intelligent British comedy rendered by an excellent cast with
charm and subtlety.

Novelist Charles Condomine (Brian McNamara) and his wife Ruth (Kelli
Kalinowski) have invited another couple and a local psychic, Madame
Arcati (Ruth Markind), to a dinner party.

Working on a book on the occult, Charles intends to have Madame
Arcati conduct a seance that, much to the dismay of Mr. and Mrs.
Condomine, results in the ectoplasmic manifestation of Charles'
deceased wife, Elvira (Amanda Graves).

On Saturday night, McNamara was superb as Charles, while Graves
effectively portrayed Elvira. McNamara was convincing in creating a
character both in control and on the verge of insanity.

Charles is, after all, attempting to balance the relationship with
his second wife with lingering sentiments for his first spouse.
Graves, meanwhile, floats about the stage like a scheming specter
sizing up her prey.

Other performances of note include those of Kalinowski and Markind.
In particular, Markind's Madame Arcati -- with her exaggerated
gestures and expressions -- was a believably eccentric psychic
medium. With paintings, vases of flowers and more than 100 handsome
hardbound books on the bookcase, the set conveyed the feel of an
upper-class home.

The show's only major problem is Mr. Coward's lack of dramatic
economy. Not only does the playwright employ liberal use of
highfalutin language, he includes excessive expository dialogue that
would be better saved for a later scene -- or eliminated entirely.

An example is the long conversation between Charles and Elvira in
the first act, which weakens the suspense surrounding Charles'
rationalization of his relationship with Elvira's ghost. Once the
audience sees him grow comfortable with her, much of his inner
conflict is subdued.

To further protract the event, the show featured two 15-minute
intermissions. That said, if smart British comedy is your pleasure,
you'll currently have a hard time finding a better theater value in
Central Massachusetts than Calliope's "Blithe Spirit."