by Marie Moeller ’14

On May 4, the talented students of Sherwood exceeded the expectations of the community in their performance of “Blithe Spirit.” With a high bar set after the amazing success of the musical, “Guys and Dolls”, the small cast and tech crew collaborated to make a mediocre play captivating.

“Blithe Spirit” is a seriocomedy about a man named Charles Condomine who is haunted by his ex-wife, Elvira, after being summoned during a séance. Throughout the course of the play, Elvira becomes increasingly malicious and attempts to kill Charles on numerous occasions so they can be together for eternity. As tensions rise, secrets are revealed, tears are shed, and laughs are shared.

The play itself was poorly written; the script lacked the comedic factors that bring life to these types of plays. However, the play was brought into a new light by sophomore Jessi Alperin, who played Madame Arcati, the eccentric medium and comic relief. Alperin did a fantastic job of embodying her character from the realistic British accent to the peculiar and witty oddity the character upholds. From the moment she came on stage in her outrages attire, the audience was taken a back in surprised laughter that shocked everyone out of their boredom. As proven by Alperin, despite the lack of appeal the show offers the actors and actresses demonstrated talent that made the show worthwhile.

Junior Andi Hopkins (Ruth Condomine) was another stand out actress, portraying the overemotional and controlling second wife of Condomine. After making her debut lead role in “Guys and Dolls,” it was no surprise that Hopkins was able to execute another lead with precision and passion. Lauren Corlette (Elvira), Nick Cameron (Charles Condomine), William Goniprow (George Bradman), Susannah Campbell (Violet Bradman), and Rachael Fox (Edith) each did well respectively to their role, highlighting the personalities and quirks of their characters in every performance.

The only major flaw the cast had was the inconsistency of accents in a British dialect. While some cast members were very good at speaking with a decent accent fluently (primarily Corlette, Alperin, and Cameron), others were not as precise or spoke in an American accent. This was a bit confusing, especially since the setting was in Kent, England. Overall, the acting was superb—no one broke character and, for the most part, all lines were executed flawlessly.

With a stunning set, full of props and décor, to perform on, the show was brought to life, as the plot unraveled before the audiences’ eyes. “Blithe Spirit” raised the bar of Sherwood performances a little higher.