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[[Chamberlain believes the play has universal implications]]

duction since its premiere here more than 45 years ago. And Richard Chamberlain as Charles, Blythe Danner as Elvira, Judith Ivey as Ruth and Geraldine Page as Madame Arcati all agree that Blithe Spirit contains substance and humanity.

"I think there's a general misconception about Noël's work," maintains Bedford, who is one of the foremost interpreters of Coward's plays. "He has often been accused of being glib and superficial. That was even the case with Private Lives, which is now considered a classic. When he and Gertrude Lawrence did it originally, everyone said it was an enjoyable evening but there was absolutely nothing to it. And even Noël disclaimed any substance to his plays, which rather compounded the public's perception of his work.

"But Blithe Spirit says an awful lot about relationships between men and women," he continues. "A lot of men who adore women are very passive, and they allow the women to call the shots as far as their relationship goes. I think this is true of Charles. This man is torn apart by these two women, and he has to exorcise both of them, so that he can start to lead his own life."

Adds Page, "Almost everyone has a current relationship and a past relationship, and has probably contemplated what would happen if you had the two of them at the same time. Anyone who has been fond of more than one person will understand the conflicts in this play."

Chamberlain feels it must have been "a moment of self-deprecation" that led Coward to call the work a farce. "Whether Coward knew it or not, the play has very interesting and deep universal applications or implications," offers the debonair actor, returning to Broadway for the first time since he appeared in a 1976 production of Tennessee Williams's Night of the Iguana. "Charles is in the midst of a middle-aged crisis. He had a very sensuous youth, and he and Elvira had a stormy, tempestuous and very sexy relationship.

Now he's settled down with Ruth, who is lovely and charming. But she represents the kind of orderliness necessitated by middle age, and deep down, Charles isn't ready for this. In his deepest unconscious he still dreams of Elvira and the excitement of that youthful romance.

"So, guess what? His unconscious — or Elvira — comes back to haunt him. And the propriety and orderliness of middle age clash with the wildness and passion of youth and start to tear him to bits."

To help the cast get into, well, the spirit of things, a "trance medium and psychic healer," as he is called, came to a few rehearsals to offer information about his field and to show Page how to go into a trance. Madame Arcati's steadfast belief in spiritualism, coupled with the exuberant and peculiar manner with which she goes about her business, brands her as an eccentric. But Page points out that the character is more dimensional than that.

"I've never understood what the word eccentric means," insists the remarkable actress, "except that it's somebody whom you notice in a group of people. In that way I suppose she is eccentric. On the other hand, she's astonishingly sensible and ordinary. She drinks her Ovaltine. She's not what you'd expect, and that's what makes her fun and funny. She's also the happiest character in the play. Everybody else is frustrated and has troubles."

Madame Arcati may be problem-free, but Page admits that she initially had problems dealing with the memory of Margaret Rutherford in the role, a performance she calls "utterly perfect." She decided that the only way to deal with it was to "go at it an entirely different way."

Whatever tack Page takes, it is almost impossible for Madame Arcati to emerge as anything but a warm and lovely character. That is not necessarily true for Ruth and Elvira. Both are jealous and possessive women who, if handled incorrectly, can be extremely unsympathetic. And Charles makes a speech at the end of the

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