Jayne Atkinson Joins Broadway Revival of Blithe Spirit

Jayne Atkinson will join previously announced stars Angela Lansbury, Christine Ebersole, Rupert Everett and Simon Jones in the forthcoming Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, which has been booked into the Shubert Theatre. The play will begin previews on February 26, 2009, directed by Michael Blakemore. No opening date has been set.

In Coward's 1941 farce, Lansbury plays Madame Arkati, the eccentric medium hired by author Charles Condomine Everett to perform a seance at his home during a party in order to seek material for an expose he's planning on psychics. Much to the dismay of Charles' second wife, Ruth Atkinson, Madame Arkati winds up summoning the spirit of Elvira Ebersole, his first wife, who has plans to get revenge on her former husband.

Atkinson's Broadway credits include Enchanted April, Our Town, The Rainmaker, Ivanov and Tru. She is known to TV audiences for playing Homeland Security honcho Karen Hayes in the fifth and sixth seasons of <24.

Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel and Steve Traxler will produce the revival of Blithe Spirit, which will feature sets by Peter J. Davison, costumes by Martin Pakledinaz and lighting by Brian MacDevitt. The current tenant at the Shubert, Monty Python’s Spamalot, will end its run on January 18.