Editing Blithe Spirit (play) (section)

===America===
The [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] premiere was on 5 November 1941 at the [[Morosco Theatre]], presented by Coward's American producer, [[John C. Wilson]], with designs by Stewart Chaney. The play transferred to the [[Booth Theatre]] on 18 May 1942; it ran for a total of 657 performances.<ref>Gaye, p. 1543</ref> The play won the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]] for Best Foreign Play for the 1941–1942 season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards Past Winners |url=https://www.dramacritics.org/dc_pastawards.html |access-date=31 January 2025 |website=New York Drama Critics' Circle}}</ref> After closing at the Booth on 5 June 1943, a return engagement played 32 performances from 6 September to 2 October 1943 at the Morosco. [[Haila Stoddard]] took over as Elvira.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blithe Spirit – Broadway Play – Original {{!}} IBDB |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/blithe-spirit-13286 |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=www.ibdb.com}}</ref> While the first Broadway production was still running, Wilson mounted another in [[Chicago]]. It opened on 17 February 1942 at the [[Harris and Selwyn Theaters|Selwyn Theater]].<ref>"Coward Play Recalls First Nights of Old", ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', 19 February 1942, p. 17</ref>

''Blithe Spirit'' was revived on Broadway at the [[Neil Simon Theatre]] on 31 March 1987 in a production directed by [[Brian Murray (actor)|Brian Murray]]. It starred [[Richard Chamberlain]] as Charles, [[Judith Ivey]] as Ruth, [[Blythe Danner]] as Elvira and [[Geraldine Page]] as Madame Arcati. It ran for 104 performances. Page, who received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress, died of a heart attack during the run;<ref>"Geraldine Page Is Dead", ''The New York Times'', 15 June 1987, p. A1</ref> [[Patricia Conolly]] succeeded her in the role.<ref>Kolbert, Elizabeth. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/15/obituaries/geraldine-page-62-dies-a-star-of-stage-and-film.html?scp=3&sq=patricia%20conolly,%20blithe%20spirit&st=cse "Geraldine Page, 62, Dies; A Star of Stage and Film"]. ''The New York Times'', 15 June 1987, retrieved 2 August 2010 {{subscription}}</ref>

A Broadway revival played in 2009 at the [[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]].<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123005.html "Simon Jones Joins Cast of Blithe Spirit; Revival to Play the Shubert"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081107070040/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123005.html |date=7 November 2008 }}, playbill.com, 4 November 2008</ref>  Blakemore directed, with [[Rupert Everett]] as Charles, [[Jayne Atkinson]] as Ruth, [[Christine Ebersole]] as Elvira, [[Angela Lansbury]] as Madame Arcati and [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]] as Dr Bradman.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123437.html "Atkinson Joins Starry Cast of Broadway's Blithe Spirit Revival"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107141019/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123437.html |date=7 January 2009 }}, playbill.com, 17 November 2008</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' found the revival somewhat uneven, calling the opening performance "bumpy", but praised Lansbury's performance.{{#tag:ref|The production won several awards. Lansbury won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress.<ref>[http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html "Who's Nominated?"] TonyAwards.com, retrieved 11 May 2009</ref> The play won the [[Drama League Award]] for Distinguished Revival of a Play<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/129267-Billy_Carnage_Hair_Blithe_and_Rush_Win_Drama_League_Awards "Billy, Carnage, Hair, Blithe and Rush Win Drama League Awards"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518073846/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/129267-Billy_Carnage_Hair_Blithe_and_Rush_Win_Drama_League_Awards |date=18 May 2009 }}, playbill.com, 15 May 2009</ref>|group= n}} 

A revival, directed by Blakemore with most of the West End cast (including Lansbury at age 89) except [[Charlotte Parry]] as Ruth, toured North America from December 2014 to March 2015, visiting [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]], [[Toronto]] and Washington D.C.<ref>McNulty, Charles. [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-blithe-spirit-ahmason-theatre-angela-lansbury-review-20141216-column.html "Angela Lansbury keeps spirits high in ''Blithe Spirit''"], ''Los Angeles Times'', 15 December 2014</ref><ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/angela-lansbury-will-star-in-north-american-tour-of-blithe-spirit-itinerary-and-cast-announced-330645 "Angela Lansbury Will Star in North American Tour of Blithe Spirit; Itinerary and Cast Announced"], ''Playbill'', 16 September 2014</ref>

====American casts, 1941 to 2011====
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: left; margin-right: 0;"
|- style="text-align:center;"
| '''Roles'''</p>
| '''1941'''</p>
| '''1942'''</p>
| '''1987'''</p>
| '''2009'''</p>
| '''2011'''</p>
|- style="text-align:center;"
|
| '''[[Morosco Theatre|Morosco]]'''</p>
| '''[[Harris and Selwyn Theaters|Selwyn]]'''</p>
| '''[[Neil Simon Theatre|Neil Simon]]'''</p>
| '''[[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert]]'''</p>
| On tour</p>
|-
| Charles
| [[Clifton Webb]]
| [[Dennis King (actor)|Dennis King]]
| [[Richard Chamberlain]]
| [[Rupert Everett]]
| [[Charles Edwards (actor)|Charles Edwards]]
|-
| Ruth
| [[Peggy Wood]]
| [[Carol Goodner]]
| [[Judith Ivey]]
| [[Jayne Atkinson]]
| [[Charlotte Perry]]
|-
| Elvira
| [[Leonora Corbett]]

|[[Annabella (actress)|Annabella]]
| [[Blythe Danner]]
| [[Christine Ebersole]]
| [[Jemima Rooper]]
|-
| Madame Arcati
| [[Mildred Natwick]]
| [[Estelle Winwood]]
| [[Geraldine Page]]
| [[Angela Lansbury]]
| [[Angela Lansbury]]
|-
| Dr Bradman
| [[Philip Tonge]]
|[[Lowell Gilmore]]
| [[William LeMassena]]
| [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]]
| [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]]
|-
| Mrs Bradman
|Phyllis Joyce
| Valerie Cossart
| [[Patricia Conolly]]
| [[Deborah Rush]]
| Sandra Shipley
|-
| Edith
| [[Doreen Lang]]
|Belle Gardner
| [[Nicola Cavendish]]
| Susan Louise O'Connor
| Susan Louise O'Connor
|}