Blithe Spirit

After having read so many "serious" - but nonetheless important - plays recently, I was ecstatic to get to read a lighthearted and truly hilarious farce like Blithe Spirit.  It might've just been the timing in the semester, or the fact that Noël Coward intended this play to lift the audience's spirits in the midst of a war-torn state of affairs, but this play really did lighten the mood of this semester.  The play's quick wit and farcical spirit really resonated with me, and had me hooked almost from the first page.  The plot does seem a bit hokey and corny at first glance, but Coward really does handle this somewhat farfetched concept expertly and never lets the action feel contrived or pandering.  The characters felt real - a feat in itself for the now-ghost of Elvira and the larger-than-life pseudo-psychic Madame Arcati.  I also felt the way death was approached in this play was very unique, as death never quite felt heavy or tragic, and more just an accepted event.  Overall, I LOVED reading Blithe Spirit, and I honestly can't wait to see a production mounted here, which I know will be absolutely fantastic.