The UCO Department of Theater Arts put on “Blithe Spirit”

The University of Central Oklahoma’s Department of Theatre Arts staged Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 at Mitchell Hall Theatre, bringing British comedy and ghosts to Edmond for Halloween.

“Blithe Spirit” tells the story of Charles Condomine, a novelist who invites medium Madame Arcati to his home to conduct a séance as research for his new book. The event unexpectedly summons the ghost of his late wife, Elvira, who disrupts Charles’s marriage to his current wife, Ruth. As tensions rise, Charles must navigate the conflict between his two wives, one living and one dead, in a series of misunderstandings and supernatural events.

The “Blithe Spirit” cast included seven principal roles, supported by an ensemble of understudies who performed a preview run before the show’s opening. While the main performances took place in Mitchell Hall Theatre, the understudies held their rehearsal and showcase in the theater’s basement rehearsal space.

Directed by Carly O’Brien, the play featured a mix of student actors and technical crew members from UCO’s theatre arts program. The staging incorporated hidden compartments and movable set pieces that allowed props to appear to move on their own, an effect designed to mimic the supernatural activity in Coward’s 1941 comedy.

“We kind of just lucked out that it ended up being during this slot,” O’Brien said. 

“It’s a really fun play year-round, but doing it around Halloween, when there’s someone who’s a ghost throughout the entire show, does make it extra fun.”

O’Brien said students had input in the season selection process, though faculty made final decisions on which productions to mount. The department recently formed a season selection committee to ensure representation from performance, design and technology, and theatre education areas, as well as a student representative.

Though “Blithe Spirit” was not part of a larger production season, UCO’s Theatre Arts Department will continue its fall lineup later this month with “Up Down Here There”, an original play written and directed by Johnathan Young, running Nov. 13–16 in the university’s Studio Theater.