TWO to bring laughs, scares with 'Blithe Spirit'

Oct. 10—Theatre Workshop of Owensboro will continue to celebrate its 60th season of entertaining the community with its production of the Noël Coward comedic play "Blithe Spirit" starting this week at the Trinity Centre.

The show will kick off with a dinner preview at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, followed by performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, and Saturday, Oct. 14, with a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15.

Additional performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, and Saturday, Oct. 21, and will conclude at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22.

Described by Coward as "an improbable farce in three acts," "Blithe Spirit" first premiered in the West End in 1941 for just under 2,000 performances. It moved onto Broadway the same year and was made into a film in 1945 and again in 2020; with the former winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 19th Academy Awards in 1947.

TWO's 60th season will be showcasing productions that stood out in previous years, with "Blithe Spirit" being put on twice throughout the organization's history — first premiering in 1979, followed by another run in 2001.

The play, set in Kent, England, in the 1930s, details the story of British author Charles Condomine doing research on a mystery that he is writing that will involve a spiritualist, according to Lisa Mingus-Tullis, director of the production.

Mingus-Tullis said Condomine and his second wife, Ruth, host a dinner party that includes a local doctor and his wife — Dr. and Mrs. Bradman — and local psychic, Madame Arcati, with the latter conducting a séance where "something happens."

"It involves the ghost of Charles' first wife," Mingus-Tullis said. "Other things happen, (but) I'm not going to go into it because I don't want to spoil it for the audience."

Mingus-Tullis said the show includes "zany characters" along with "snappy dialogue" among other features.

"(There's) lots of cool effects that I think the audience will enjoy, and some pretty surprising developments," Mingus-Tullis said.

Besides being a comedy and farce, Mingus-Tullis describes the show as a "spooky ghost story" with some "really tense drama." She said the location of the production will enhance the experience, as the Trinity Centre has "numerous ghost stories."

"It's been one of the prongs of the marketing of this show," Mingus-Tullis said. "It's really cool that it's taking place (at Trinity)."

Mingus-Tullis said the timing of opening night plays into the atmosphere of the show even more.

"Our opening is Friday the 13th," Mingus-Tullis said.

The cast consists of a mix of regular TWO performers, newer but familiar faces and one person "who is brand new to the stage, ever," she said. The set designer and builder for this year's production is John Campbell, who created the set for TWO's 1979 run.

Mingus-Tullis said those who've seen the previous productions at TWO will be immersed in a different atmosphere visually, in part due to Campbell and set decorator Lori Champion's efforts.

"It's got a bit of an Art Deco vibe, and I feel like (it) perfectly sets Charles and Ruth Condomine (as) upper-class British couple (in) 1937, kind of having the popular decorations.

"It's beautiful," she said.

Mingus-Tullis wants the crowd "to fully believe that they are gazing into (the) Condomine (family's) drawing room in 1937."

"I want them to be wowed by the authenticity of the costumes, and of the characters and the set," she said. "I want them to laugh. I want them to have a few thrilling moments as some things happen, and to also think about the relationships ... because really, at the core of it, it is about relationships and how you interact, how you interact under stress."

Local restaurants Sassafras and Niko's Bakery will create a special British meal for the dinner preview on Thursday, which will include pork pie, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, cold English pea salad, Hawkshead Whig rolls and spotted dick, which is a traditional steamed pudding.

Reservations for the dinner preview will be available until 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11.

Tickets for the dinner preview and regular performances are available at theatreworkshop.org/tickets or by calling TWO's box office at 270-683-5333.

The show is sponsored by the real estate agency Reynolds & Associates, with the 2023-24 sponsor being Owensboro Health.

For more information, visit theatreworkshop.org or facebook.com/theatreworkshop.