Angela Lansbury isn’t one to rest on her laurels.
Fresh off an honorary Oscar for decades of memorable performances in such films as “Gaslight” and “The Manchurian Candidate,” the 88-year old Lansbury is returning to the stage in a West End revival of “Blithe Spirit.” She will play doddering clairvoyant Madame Arcati, the same role that won her a Tony in 2009. It marks Lansbury’s first time on the London stage in nearly 40 years, her last stint crossing the boards in the city coming with a performance as Gertrude in the National Theatre’s 1975 production of “Hamlet.”
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“You could say it’s my last chance,” Lansbury told the Daily Mail. “It isn’t! But you could say that. After all, I am 88 — in my 89th year now. But I’ve got many more years left. I do believe that.”
Lansbury has been nominated for three Oscars and won five Tonys. She remains best known for playing a sleuth and novelist in the long-running series “Murder, She Wrote,” in addition to her well-regard work in such stage shows as “Sweeney Todd” and “Mame.”
“Blithe Spirit” is one of Noel Coward’s most frequently revived works and centers on a swank couple who conjure up the ghost of a dead wife. Numerous highballs are consumed and many bon mots are uttered. Janie Dee and Charles Edwards will co-star in the play, which will officially open at the Gielgud Theatre on March 18, 2014, with previews beginning on March 1.