UNITY THEATRE SET TO OPEN SEASON WITH “BLITHE SPIRIT”
Unity Theatre in Brenham will open the 2016-2017 season with the show Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward.
The story revolves around a fussy, and often cantankerous novelist, Charles Condomine, who is re-married but haunted by the ghost of his late first wife. It’s the show the New York Times hails as “the most spirited comedy you’ve seen in years.”
Paul Gaffney returns to Unity Theatre to direct this comedy, after having directed Chapter Two last season. Gaffney says that Blithe Spirit is “... a comedy of unintended consequences. One could add ‘charming’ at the front of that phrase, too. But what I intend to focus on, and organize things around, is the comedy that comes from the unintended consequences that arise when the best of intentions go terribly awry. Blithe Spirit is generally regarded as his best play (and I certainly agree), and that includes some pretty tough competition: Private Lives, Present Laughter, Design for Living and Hay Fever.”
Unity veteran actor, Ryan Schabach (A Piece of My Heart, Almost, Maine, The Philadelphia Story, Mary’s Wedding, Charley’s Aunt and Last Train to Nibroc) returns to play the unwittingly compromised Charles Condomine. Susan Draper (See Rock City, Chapter Two, Deathtrap, Laundry and Bourbon, Last Train to Nibroc, Turn of the Screw and A Child’s Christmas in Wales) plays the stuffy 2nd wife, Ruth, while Unity newcomer, Crystal O’Brien, plays the spirited and outgoing 1st wife, Elvira. Michelle Britton is Madame Arcati, and rounding out the cast is Alan Hall as Dr. Bradman, and Lisa Thomas as the doctor’s wife.
Blithe Spirit runs for three weekends at Unity Theatre, previewing on Thursday, September 22nd, opening on Friday, September 23rd, and playing through Sunday, October 9th. Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 4:00 pm. Tickets are $27 and they are reserved, however $19 tickets are available for Preview, September 22nd, student tickets are always $15, and all unsold seats are $15 at 15 minutes prior to any performance.
A talk-back with the cast and crew immediately follows the Preview performance and a Director’s Chat is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Saturday, October 1st, prior to the show. Subscribers can begin making their reservations on September 6th, and tickets go on sale to the public on September 12th. Reservations can be made through the Unity Theatre Box Office at 300 Church Street, open Monday through Friday, 10:00 am until 2:00 pm, by phone at (979) 830-8358, or by email to tickets@unitybrenham.org. Beginning September 12th, tickets can be purchased online at https://Tickets.UnityBrenham.org. Visit the website at www.UnityBrenham.org for more information.