1964 was an incredible year for the Broadway musicals. Four that have become classics — “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Hello, Dolly!”, “Man of La Mancha,” and “Funny Girl” — all opened that season, as did the famous flop, now cult classic, Sondheim’s “Anyone Can Whistle.” Sandwiched somewhere in this quartet were two that are particular favorites of mine, “Robert and Elizabeth,” based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett and “High Spirits,” an adaptation of Noel Coward’s comedy “Blithe Spirit.”
City Center’s Encores program has been dedicated to preserving the legacy of the musical theater and reintroducing audiences to obscure shows for the past 32 years. So, when they reached back to 1964 to slate “High Spirits” for this season, theater geeks (like me) across New York rejoiced.
Encores, however, reaches well beyond the nerd contingent to introduce broader audiences to important, and historic, pieces. The impressive track record includes shows that have moved from City Center to Broadway, notably the current revival of “Chicago,” which will have been running 30 years this November, with no slowdown in sight.
Jenny Gersten, vice president and artistic director of musical theater at New York City Center, who programs the season, says that the program as it is today appeals to two audiences. The first, and most obvious, are the series and musical fans who know they’re going to get a musically sophisticated, star-studded show. The second audience, equally passionate according to Gersten, are those under 30 who love musicals — and who have found a community around musicals. Asked how this audience has developed, Gersten said simply, “Thank you, Tik Tok.” In some sense, the “weird kids who like musicals” who might have been isolated and alone at one point can now find each other almost instantaneously through social media and connect through their fandom. Over the past three decades, this has only grown. It began, arguably, with “Rent” in 1996 and has continued through “Wicked,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” and, of course, “Hamilton.”
Asked what makes the Encores experience so powerful for audiences, Gersten says it’s the energy that happens in performance. “It’s a big energy exchange,” she added. “It’s as much for the performers on stage as it for the audience. So, I really believe in what musical theater does for the neurological system, for the heart, and for the brain.”
Noel Coward famously said that he wrote “Blithe Spirit” in six days, and it was first seen in London in 1941. The plot centers around Charles Condomine, who, with his present wife Ruth, invites a medium, Madame Arcati to perform séance in their home. They manage to summon the ghost of Charle’s late, first wife Elvira, whom only Charles can see and who is up to all kinds of mischief. Hilarity, as they say, ensues.
In adapting the play for the musical stage, Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray preserved much of the original script, though they changed the ending, and added a wonderful score. The original Broadway production, which featured Tammy Grimes as Elvira and Beatrice Lillie as Madame Arcati ran for 375 performances and scored eight Tony nominations.
When the Encores production opens on February 4 at City Center, it will be the first time that the full score has been heard in New York in 62 years, with the original orchestrations played by a 28-piece orchestra. The company features Broadway stars Stephen Pasquale (“The Bridges of Madison County”) and real-life wife Phillipa Soo (“Amélie,” “Hamilton”) as Charles and Ruth Condomine, Katrina Lenk (“Company,” “The Band’s Visit”), and Andrea Martin (“My Favorite Year,” “Pippin,” “Candide”) as Madame Arcati.
The production promises more than just a delightful evening hearing a show most won’t know. It’s a chance to experience one of the last musicals of the so-called “golden age,” which began with “Oklahoma” in 1943 and the beginning of what the musical would become in the latter part of the 1960s, with “Fiddler on the Roof.” Listening again to the original cast album (available on YouTube), it’s evident that “High Spirits” is very much a musical of its time; harmonics and orchestrations are reminiscent of the period, while still being original and a whole lot of fun. Only one song from the score became a modest hit—“You’d Better Love Me”—and was recorded by Petula Clark and Mel Tormé. Nonetheless, even the songs that will be new to audiences are full of whimsy and romance. From the list song, “My Home Sweet Heaven,” where Elvira details all the famous people she interacts with in heaven, to the witty lyrics that reflect Coward’s mordant take on relationships as in “I Know Your Heart,” it’s impossible not to be drawn into the world of follies, foibles, and phantoms.
“High Spirits” is just the first of the 2026 Encores season. It’s Gersten’s first in her role, and the current show will be followed up with “The Wild Party” in March and “La Cage Aux Folles” in June starring Billy Porter and Wayne Brady.
For now, “High Spirits” promises to be a memorable production, and to paraphrase one lyric, you’d better get tickets…while you may.
High Spirits | Encores at City Center | February 4-8: Weds-Sat 7:30 p.m.; Sat 2 p.m.; Sun 2 & 7 p.m. | February 10-15: Tues-Sat, 7:30 pm.; Sat, Sun 2 p.m. | $45-$185 at CityCenter.org | 2 hours, 30 mins, 1 intermission
