Blithe Spirit

By: Noel Coward

For my take on Noel Coward's classic comedy, I was inspired by the idea of a period typically characterized for its wartime in a context where the war was nonexistent. Coward's main goal in writing Blithe Spirit was to distract audiences from the harsh times surrounding them, so I felt it keeping with his original intent to inspire the clothing outside the realm of WWII. In order to create the high class personifications Coward intended to mock, I focused on the more flashy media factors that surrounded individuals during the 1940s, such as movie stars and royalty. Each of the main characters was inspired by a particular movie star or group of similarly-styled movie stars. For instance, Ruth gained her mature elegance with interesting details taken from Katherine Hepburn and Vivien Leigh, while Elvira can credit her dramatic flowy style to Jean Harlow and Betty Davis. The stars were also selected under the mindset of who each character might have admired or paid attention to in the media. Aside from character inspiration, another element I paid particular attention to was color psychology. The colors worn by each character throughout the show shift to reflect both their inner feelings and their surroundings. For example, Ruth begins the show in purple, a sign of wealth, prosperity, and contentedness, and progresses into green, showing her maintained wealth but progression into jealousy. Upon entrance into the second act, all characters take on darker and cooler tones to reflect the shifting unsettlement caused by the play's events. Co-designed with Carey Hanson.