Engel plays medium Madame Arcati in the ten-performance run at the G&L Theatre on The Community School of Naples campus. The cast also features James DePavia as Charles Condomine, Karen Molnar as Elvira and Susan Hartley as Ruth. Mark Danni directs.
High Spirits is the 1964 musicalization of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. The musical was penned by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray.
In a statement director Danni said, "High Spirits is heavily dependent on the comic abilities of the player in the role of Madame Arcati. Coward created a genuinely great comic character in Madame Arcati and Georgia Engel (well-known for her role as Georgette Baxter in 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'), joyfully makes it her own."
High Spirits, according to press notes, "concerns a fussy, cantankerous socialite Charles Condomine (James DePavia), a suave Cowardesque novelist, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant Madame Arcati (Georgia Engel) to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his annoying and temperamental first wife Elvira (Karen Molnar) following the séance. Elvira makes continual attempts to disrupt Charles's staid marriage to his priggish second wife, Ruth (Susan Hartley) who cannot see or hear the ghost. As the worldly and un-worldly personalities clash, unlikely twists and turns continue throughout this very entertaining musical."
Engel launched her theatrical career playing Minnie Fay in Hello, Dolly! with Ethel Merman. She then joined the original production of House of Blue Leaves, and also appeared as Mickey in My One and Only. She co-starred as Sister Mary Leo in Nunsense: The 20th Anniversary Tour as well as Sister Amnesia in Nunsense and Nunsense Jamboree. On television, she played Georgette in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (two Emmy nominations). Recently, she appeared as Pat McDougal in "Everybody Loves Raymond" (three Emmy nominations). Show times are Jan. 7-9 at 8 PM; Jan. 9 and 10 at 2 PM; Jan. 13-16 at 8 PM and Jan. 17 at 2 PM.
G&L Theatre is located on The Community School campus, one block north of Pine Ridge Road at 13275 Livingston Road. For more information or to purchase tickets, call TheaterZone at (888) 966-3352 or visit www.theatrezone-florida.com.
