Welcome to Hollywood, circa 1941. For tonight’s production of Blithe Spirit, we’re not traveling to Kent, England (the original location of the Noel Coward’s play). And the central character of Charles Condomine is not the author of mystery novels, but is instead a screenwriter and director along the lines of Billy Wilder. So instead of honeymooning at Budleigh Salterton and going to the pier at Southsea on holiday, our characters have been to Niagara Falls and take trips to the Santa Monica pier.

But other than changing a few street names and giving some of our characters more American accents, nothing else in the script has been changed. Charles is still haunted by the spirit of his first wife following a séance led by the eccentric Madame Arcati. And his present wife, Ruth, is still just as upset by the prospect of her husband becoming an astral bigamist.

So why make these changes? Why tinker with a play that became an instant classic when it opened in London and went on to set several box-office records? Part of the reason has to do with what I think the play is about. More than being a classic British farce, I think the play is a testament to the enduring magic of love. Despite the trials and frustrations life throws our way, there is a place inside us that remains untouched. A place of magic and fantasy where love never fades and not even death can diminish its strength.

And where is there more magic and fantasy than in Hollywood at its heyday? Where is there a larger collection of eccentric characters, and where is there a stronger desire to remain young and beautiful forever (even if you have to be dead to do so)?

So sit back. Think of the magic you felt when love first swept you away. And come with us to Hollywood, where anything is possible…..

Peter Shaner