Encores! High Spirits

Noël Peirce Coward was born in 1899. His controversial play The Vortex (1924) first made his name as both actor and playwright in the West End and on Broadway. During the 1920s and 1930s, Coward wrote plays, musicals, and revues, including Fallen Angels (1925), Hay Fever (1925), Easy Virtue (1926), This Year of Grace (1928), Bitter Sweet (1929), Private Lives (1931), and Tonight at 8.30 (1936). During World War II, his plays included Blithe Spirit, which ran for a record 1997 performances, This Happy Breed, and Present Laughter (both 1943). His wartime screenplays, In Which We Serve and Brief Encounter, became British cinema classics. In response to post-war criticism, Coward re-invented himself as a cabaret and TV star, particularly in America, including a 1955 season in Las Vegas featuring many of his most famous songs, including "Mad About the Boy," "I’ll See You Again," and "Mad Dogs and Englishmen." In the mid-1950s he settled in Jamaica and Switzerland, and enjoyed a renaissance in the early 1960s, becoming the first living playwright to be performed by the National Theatre with Hay Fever. He appeared in the films Our Man In Havana (1959) and The Italian Job (1968). His final West End appearance was in Song at Twilight (1966), which he also wrote. He was knighted in 1970 and died in 1973 in Jamaica. 

Hugh Martin was an American arranger, playwright, and composer for musical theater and film, best known for writing the score for Meet Me in St. Louis. In addition to High Spirits and Meet Me in St. Louis, he wrote music and lyrics for several other musicals, including Best Foot Forward; Look, Ma, I'm Dancing!; Make a Wish; and the West End musical Love from Judy. As a performer, Martin appeared on Broadway in Hooray for What!, Where Do We Go from Here?, and fLouisiana Purchase. Martin received four Tony Award nominations over the course of his career: three for High Spirits (Best Musical, Best Author of a Musical, and Best Composer and Lyricist), and one for the 1990 Broadway production of Meet Me in St. Louis (Best Original Score). 

Timothy Gray was an author, singer, songwriter, and director, best known for his work across stage and musical theater. He created the score for the London production of Love From Judy, served as vocal arranger for the Broadway revival of Good News, and produced the revival of Johnny Johnson. A frequent collaborator of Hugh Martin, Gray co-created High Spirits, earning him three Tony Award nominations for Best Author, Best Composer and Lyricist, and Best Musical. 

Mary-Mitchell Campbell is a conductor, music director, orchestrator, composer, and arranger who moves fluidly between Broadway, pop, and classical genres. She is currently the Music Supervisor for Death Becomes Her on Broadway. Other Broadway credits include Water for Elephants, Some Like It Hot, Mean Girls, The Prom, My Love Letter to Broadway, Finding Neverland, Big Fish, The Addams Family, Company, and Sweeney Todd. Film and television work includes Homeschool Musical, Girls5Eva, and Better Nate Than Ever. Campbell is the founder and president of ArtsIgnite (artsignite.org), an organization that helps young people develop agency through the arts. She is also a founding member of MUSE (museonline.org) and Maestra (maestramusic.org). 

Ellenore Scott is a New York–based BIPOC Choreographer and Director. Broadway: Ragtime, Funny Girl, Mr. Saturday Night, Grey House. Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors; Titanique (Lucille Lortel nomination); I Can Get It For You Wholesale; The Lonely Few (Co-Director). West End: Titanique. Film/TV: Single All the Way (Netflix), So You Think You Can Dance (FOX). 

Jessica Stone is an acclaimed director and the newly appointed Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse. She was most recently Tony‑nominated for directing Water for Elephants (2024), winning the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Best Director. In 2023, she received a Tony nomination for Kimberly Akimbo, which won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This will be her City Center debut. Before directing, Stone had a decades-long career as an actress on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in television, and film. Her Broadway credits include Anything Goes, Butley, The Odd Couple, The Smell of the Kill, Design for Living, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Grease. Stone began directing with an all-male production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has since directed at major US Regional theaters, including A.C.T., Shakespeare Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, The Old Globe, and Two River Theatre Company.  

A skeptical, emotionally conflicted novelist; currently married to Ruth Condomine, formerly married to Elvira. 

Charles’s second wife, who is practical, grounded, and easily frustrated; feels threatened by Elvira’s presence. 

Charles’s first wife, who is now a ghost; playful, flirtatious, disruptive. Summoned from the dead, she competes with Ruth for Charles’s attention.

A clumsy maid in the Condomine household, originally trained by Elvira. 

An eccentric medium who believes deeply in spiritualism. She accidentally summons the ghost of Charles Condomine’s ex-wife, Elvira while performing a séance at his house.

The curious, impressionable wife of Dr. Bradman. Observer of events and open to supernatural possibilities. 

Dr. Bradman: the logical, skeptical, and traditional husband of Mrs.Bradman; general practitioner and friend of the Condomines.

Noël Coward: British playwright of Blithe Spirit, the show that High Spirits is based upon; best known for writing dry, witty drawing room comedies.