 HIGH SPIRITS
Book, Music & Lyrics by Timothy Gray & Hugh
Martin
Based on the play Blithe Spirit by Noël
Coward Alvin Theatre, Broadway - 7 April, 1964 (375 perfs)
Savoy Theatre, London - September, 1964 (93 perfs)
Synopsis
Charles Condomine, a writer, stages a séance
conducted by a medium who lives locally. His intention is to
learn the medium's "tricks" which he is certain to prove
its only real substance. He plans to use the information gained
to use in his new novel.
Instead the medium, Madame Acarti, falls into a trance
during which the apparition of Charles' late wife, Elvira
appears to him. She does not, however, appear to the other
participants at the séance, Charles' new wife, Ruth,
and their mutual friends, Doctor and Mrs Bradman.
At first Ruth believes Charles is joking about Elvira's
visitation. However, Elvira moves into the Condomine
household and proves her presence to Ruth by pranks, such as
knocking over furniture. It slowly emerges, through a series
of bogus accidents, that Elvira is trying to kill Charles so
that he can join her "on the other side". Instead, she
mistakenly kills Ruth and the ghosts of the two women
alternately bicker and nag Charles until he is driven to
dematerialise both of them.
Madam Acarti once more comes to Charles' aid by
discovering that the Condomine's maid, Edith, has
unconsciously raised Elvira's ghost. Edith is hypnotised
and, under Mme Acarti's guidance, dematerialises both
ghosts. Free of being henpecked for the first time in his
adult life, Charles leaves to travel abroad.
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