High Spirits is the kind of musical that Encores was made for, since it premiered on Broadway in 1964 but has rarely been seen since. A tuneful adaptation of Noel Coward’s classic ghost comedy Blithe Spirit, High Spirits is a buoyant if conventional show that’s probably too old-fashioned to succeed in today’s musical climate. But for a couple of weeks at City Center with a terrifically agile cast, it fills the bill.

 

Novelist Charles Condomine lives with his second wife Ruth in his well-appointed Hampstead Heath home, where the memory of Charles’ first wife, the free-spirited Elvira, is palpable. One evening, Charles plans a séance to get ideas for a new story, but it works too well in the hands of the eccentric medium Madame Arcadi—Elvira’s spirit materializes, although only Charles can see her. Soon, Elvira tries her damnedest to ruin Charles’ current marriage or even his life—but after Elvira tampers with Charles’ car, it’s Ruth who takes it for a drive, and soon Madame Arcadi has returned to Hampstead to help Charles with a much bigger problem: the ghosts of both dead wives.

 

If you know Coward’s play, you know how it turns out, but there’s fun in the musical’s comic twists and turns: Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray expanded the role of Madame Arcadi, giving the redoubtable Andrea Martin opportunities to go overboard at Encores. Still, the witty banter of the original—mostly intact in the musical—doesn’t really need any added songs. If Martin and Gray provide entertaining, sometimes tasty interludes, only “Home Sweet Heaven”—in which Elvira enumerates all the fun she’s having in the afterlife, hanging out with everyone from Bernini and Proust to St. Theresa and Joan of Arc—has satiric bite. 

 

Jessica Stone’s Encores staging—which continues the half-staged, half-concert format that the series perfected decades ago—centers on the orchestra, conducted by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, which sounds glorious throughout. The starry cast includes the aforementioned Martin and Rachel Dratch (the Condomines’ maid Edith); though both are consummate physical comedians, their shtick becomes distracting—but at least Martin has a showstopping second act song, “Something Is Coming to Tea.” Campbell Scott is the suave narrator, named Noël Coward, while Stephen Pasquale makes an amusingly exasperated Charles. 

 

Finally, there are two of our top musical performers taking flight as Charles’ wives. Philippa Soo is a delightful Ruth, singing beautifully and showing impressive comic chops along with a happy gift for physical comedy that smartly stops short of mugging. And Katrina Lenk, a force of nature as the cheeky Elvira, is obviously having a great time—her effortlessly powerful voice and impeccable timing are the primary reason why High Spirits still resonated at Encores.