Alison Elliott

"Blithe Spirit" has been a surefire crowd-pleaser since its 1941 London premiere, and its imaginative revival at A Noise Within should sustain the average. Noel Coward's deathless "improbable farce" about a second marriage sent haywire by the first wife's...

The invitation was titled Fezziwig's Festive Holiday Tea at A Noise Within. In smaller type was the announcement of a post-tea, matinee performance of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol.” Both events could be had for $300, representing one of...

Friday August 23, 1996      A single convincing performance can elevate an imperfect movie, which is what Alison Elliott's graceful acting does for "The Spitfire Grill."      Elliott plays Perchance Talbott ("Percy will do," she says in her attractive...

Friday November 7, 1997      Despite a dense, convoluted writing style that makes no concessions to readers in a hurry, magisterial novelist Henry James has lately become a favorite of movie-makers. This last year has seen Jane Campion's "Portrait of a...

Friday April 28, 1995      "The Underneath" doesn't add up. Made with polish and assurance, capably acted and intricately constructed, its overall impact is less than these parts would indicate. It is good but, against all logic, it is not good enough....

2 stars (out of 4) The most valuable lesson I learned in college was this: The sign of a good piece of writing is not necessarily that readers can relate to it. My writing professor laid down the law: It was illegal to extol a peer's work for its...