One man, two wives, and a whole lot of shenanigans formed the basis of BYU-Hawaii’s school play, “Blithe Spirit.” After weeks of preparation and rehearsals, the cast and crew performed their comedy show to students, staff and community members who laughed and enjoyed themselves for a night.
“Blithe Spirit” is a comedic play that follows a man, his wife, a gypsy medium, and the man’s deceased first wife, whom they bring back in spirit. The man, being the only one who can see his dead wife’s spirit, seems to have gone mad until his ghostly first wife accidentally kills his second wife instead of him. Then, they both continue to haunt their husband from beyond the grave. Despite the seemingly heavy and daunting theme, this comedy had audience members laughing and smiling throughout the performance.
Kamry Madrid, a senior in business management from Arizona, said, “I liked this play better than the previous ones because it was more humorous.” The ongoing silliness seamlessly portrayed by the actors rarely gave the audience time to laugh but kept them in a continuous giggle.
Actress Ingrid Veliz, a junior in psychology from California, who played the roll of Madam Arcati, said, “I think the play went really well. We all worked really hard and you know there’s a lot of wordage in the play.” Cast members frequently entering and exiting the stage never let the silences stay for too long but instead consistently delivered lines for over two and half hours while staying in their 1950’s British accents.
Chris Cornelison, an undeclared freshman from Punaluu, Hawaii, carried the lead roll of the husband, Charles Condomine. He remarked, in reference to the show’s Thursday opening performance, “It was a really, really good performance. There were a couple of hitches, as there always are, but I feel that everything was covered up masterfully by the cast and nobody could tell.”
The performance was nearly flawless as the actors delivered their complicated lines with fluidity and ease. For the actors, this came as a relief, who said they spent weeks of long hours working and preparing for the show. The audience’s pleased reaction was the ultimate reward for the performers.
Cornelison also said, “I had so much fun. The audience was great. It was a bit small tonight but they were laughing at all of our jokes in all the right places and that’s exactly what you want.” By the end of the night, both participants and observers left the McKay Auditorium with smiles on their faces.