Angela Lansbury to Bring Blithe Spirit (Back!) to the States for North American Tour

It looks as if Tony-winning legend Angela Lansbury will indeed return back across the pond with Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit! As previously speculated, the Michael Blakemore-helmed production, which played the West End earlier this year and starred Lansbury as Madame Arcati (a role for which she won a Tony in 2009), will receive a North American tour later this year. The tour is scheduled kick off on December 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles with an official opening set for December 14. The production will continue on to San Francisco, Toronto and Washington D.C.

Reprising their roles from the West End incarnation will be Charles Edwards (TV's Downton Abbey) and Jemima Roper (One Man, Two Guvnors). Susan Louise O'Connor and Sandra Shipley, both of whom appeared in the 2009 Broadway revival, will also return. Additionally, Charlotte Parry (Coram Boy) has been tapped for the production. Further casting will be announced later.

Blithe Spirit tells the story of Charles and his wife Ruth, who invite their friends the Bradmans over for dinner and a seance with local clairvoyant Madame Arcati, whom they are convinced is a fake. The ghost of Charles’ first wife Elvira is summoned and overstays her welcome, creating a rift between Charles and his current wife Ruth. The feuding wives—one alive, one dead—plan to sabotage each other, but will they succeed?