Van Horn Participating In CMU Little Theatre's Blithe Spirit

2017 Sep 18

Central Methodist University student Natalie Van Horn, from Raymore, Mo., will be participating in CMU's presentation of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 4:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6-7 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m.

When Percy Shelley wrote "Hail to thee, blithe Spirit," he was referring to a joyous Skylark. Leave it to playwright Coward to turn the concept on its ear. The spirits in his play Blithe Spirit are neither birds nor joyous.

In this typically rollicking comedy, Coward creates multiple spirits of the ghostly variety; and they are cranky, to say the least.

The play is about a novelist, Charles, who invites a psychic to run a seance as background for the plot of his current novel. Instead, much to everyone's surprise, the psychic materializes the Charles' deceased first wife, Elvira. Only Charles can see and hear her, although his current wife, Ruth, finally believes in the ghost after Elvira hands her a floating vase.

The two wives fight over Charles until Elvira rigs the car, hoping Charles will die in an accident and be forever hers. Sadly for her, it is Ruth who is killed in the car, leaving both wives in an angry spiritual state and Charles alone in the flesh. A second seance makes matters worse and the play all that much funnier.

The cost of admission is $8 for adults, $5 for CMU faculty and staff, and free for CMU students with identification.

Van Horn is a sophomore currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in marine biology at CMU.