Paul Friswold
Blithe Spirit Noel Coward subtitled this comedy about séances and apparitions as "an improbable farce." What's really improbable is that a slightly creaky, 66-year-old drawing-room comedy should still elicit so many genuine laughs from a mostly young student audience. But as directed by Larry D. Quiggins, this student production about a fight to the death between one man's two wives one of whom already has been dead for seven years is nearly as blithe as its title. It's great fun, especially when Madame Arcati (Sarah Childs Porter), one of the theater's true eccentrics, is onstage conversing with the spirit world. We no longer live in an age where audiences want plays to talk on all night long, but this is a felicitous opportunity to catch up with an infrequently staged exercise in improbability. Performed by Lindenwood University Department of Theatre through October 13 at Jelkyl Theater, 209 S. Kingshighway, St. Charles. Tickets are $10 ($8 for seniors, $6 for children). Call 636-949-4878.
Dennis Brown
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Reviewed in this issue. I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change An intrepid group of local producers is trying to make a long-run go of this sketch-y evening that chronicles, spoofs and sometimes even satirizes mating rituals from the first date to the final farewell. They just might pull it off, because as staged with verve by St. Louis theater veteran Bobby Miller this musical revue is rambunctious, breezy and just ribald enough to keep viewers chortling from beginning to end. An ideally suited ensemble (Michael Jokerst, Alan Knoll, Chopper Leifheit, Lee Anne Mathews, Laurie McConnell, Rosemary Watts) cavorts through a fast-paced evening of mostly humorous skits that allow everyone a chance to shine. Sitting through the show is like chewing a wad of bubble gum: After a few hours it begins to lose its flavor. But the sheer act of watching so many people have so much fun both onstage and in the audience bespeaks success. Open-ended run at the Playhouse at Westport Plaza, 635 Westport Plaza (second level), Page Avenue and I-270, Maryland Heights. Tickets are $41 to $46. Call 314-469-7529.
(DB)