“Blithe Spirit,” a famous comic play by Noël Coward, had its opening night at Parkland Theatre on Thursday in front of a large audience. The theater is set to have shows throughout the next week and weekend, with its last performance this Saturday. 

The premise of the play focuses on a writer, Charles Condomine who turns to an interesting medium, named Madame Arcati, in hopes of gathering inspiration and material for his next book. At first, his friends and wife ridicule him for doing so, believing Madame Arcati to be an odd and fake medium. However, he quickly has a connection through the work of medium Madame Arcati, then turning to her for guidance. 

The opening scene of the play was beautifully set, and with the play being written in 1941, the set truly reflects such a time period with the decorations and design of the living room. While the mood of the play could be gloomy at times, at other times the set reflected a colorful and vibrant setting. 

Riley Parks, a Parkland student and reporter for the Prospectus, said she came not just to write a review on the play, but also because of her love of the arts. 

“Just overall interest — I really like the arts and drama, so I was really interested to come and review it,” Parks said. “I really enjoyed the seance and the effects, the banter, also the witty comments and sarcasm.” 

The audience vividly enjoyed the play and its performers as they continuously laughed from start to finish. 

Parks recommends more people come to other Parkland Theatre performances.

“Of course, I’ve been to a couple. I went to all of the ones for last semester and this semester, and I have never been disappointed in a performance. I would recommend it for anybody who is interested in drama,” Parks said. 

Wayne Schwaiger, a senior high school student, heard of the show because he has a friend who is learning about lighting and sound design at Parkland. He added that his favorite part of the night was the ending and the stage effects. 

“Probably the end where the lights went all green and the books started (being thrown) around — I really liked it,” Schwaiger said.  “I like it. I think it was very enjoyable. It’s a bit long, but I think overall, it was a good experience.”

Max Prevatt, a member of the theater’s staff, said another reason individuals should come to Parkland Theatre performances is because they have a wide variety of individuals who audition for roles.

“The number of people we have auditioning for every show is crazy,” Prevatt said. “There are so many people every time, so you always have a good turnout of people.”  

The range for auditions creates an opportunity for these well-loved plays to be unique, creating a new element for the audience.

“Everyone from the entire community can participate in these shows. It’s not just college kids or students. We get a lot of different people from so many different backgrounds, and they all contribute their own thing,” Prevatt said. 

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