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The Martin Players will present Noel Coward’s brilliant comedy “Blithe Spirit” at 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, Feb. 14-16 in Martin Hall Auditorium. 

Admission is $4 for students and $6 for adults.  The show is free to all Martin Methodist students and employees.

Famous for his satiric wit, Noel Coward was one of England’s leading actors and playwrights during the 1930s and 1940s. Written in the early years of World War II during the height of the Blitz, “Blithe Spirit” dares to laugh at death, satirizing marriage, gender, and the dangers of taking ourselves too seriously. 

The story concerns a mystery writer, Charles Condomine, his wife Ruth, a bumbling medium named Madame Arcati, a naïve maid, a cynical doctor and his wife, and the séance that inadvertently brings Charles’ dead wife Elvira back from the grave. The comedy that ensues is farcical, witty, and altogether ingenious. 

The cast includes Jaye Phelps (Charles), Emily Clayton (Ruth), Hannah Kennedy (Elvira), Jessica Haywood (Madame Arcati), Dakota Shouse (Dr. Bradman), Ashley Baez (Mrs. Bradman), and Carissa Pilkinton (Edith). Dr. Kayla McKinney Wiggins, professor of English, is the director. Willow Cline is the stage manager, and Samantha Nightingale is the assistant director.

“I had the privilege of studying Noel Coward with a brilliant professor when I was in graduate school,” says Wiggins. “I have written articles and conference papers on ‘Blithe Spirit.’ It is a brilliant play, very theatrical and extremely funny. I am always amazed by Coward’s determination to make his audience see during some of the darkest days of England’s history that even death can be conquered through wit, wordplay, and laughter.”

“Blithe Spirit” includes some mild language and might not be appropriate for young children.

For reservations or further information contact Kayla McKinney Wiggins at 931-363-9859.