CurtainUp
The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
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CurtainUp The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
Annotated Listings |
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A CurtainUp Review
Noises Off
By Elyse Sommer
There are those for whom Noises Off is so much the definitive farce that they'd see it whenever an opportunity to do so presents itself. On the other hand, to quote the milkman in another classic show revival currently on Broadway, not everyone is smitten with this genre. That includes yours truly. But when a production is well cast, their timing for the comic interchanges, the slammed doors and pratfalls, the noises generated by enthusiastic applause are also in order. In case you haven't seen Noises Off before, here's a tweet-plus-tweet summary: A less than stellar company is touring a sex farce called Noises On. The first and third acts take place in front of the footlights, the middle act takes us backstage with a glimpse of the disastrously executed play through an upstage glass door. Besides sex, those shenanigans include tax dodges, pratfalls and, of course, dropped pants and pratfalls— and, of course, slamming doors and plates of sardines. The Roundabout has certainly assembled a team of farceurs who handle Frayn's ingeniously constructed mayhem with zest and the required timing. Andrea Martin, who just about stole the show in Pippin , certainly know how to milk that on and off again plate of sardines for maximum laughs, and get herself hilariously entangled in the cord of an old-fashioned telephone. David Furr adeptly handles the axe-wielding pratfall that tops all the pratfalls, but Jeremy Shamos usually seen in more serious dramas is no slouch in making the dropped underpants shtick hilarious. I could go on, with shoutouts for Megan Hilty's deliciously dumb blonde ingenue, Rob McClure's harried stage manager. Since this isn't a genre for minimalist specialists like John Doyle, credit director Jeremy Herrin (who last helmed the historical Wolf Hall epic, for assembling a top drawer crafts team. Derek McLane tips his hat to the farce within a farce set-up, by doubling the standard four doors to be slammed in his two-level set. One of Michael Krass's coups is a blindingly bright green and yellow print dress with yellow shoes for Kate Jennings Grant's Belinda Blair. Like the cast, all the behind the scenes wizards do commendable work. So does this revival sustain the reputation of Noises Off as the star of this genre? Frayn's set-up and the way he sees it through its before and behind the curtain acts remains well deserved. All the silliness is so smartly presented that it's easy to see why Mr. Frayn has navigated between madcap humor and serious plays like Copenhagen . But somehow, despite quite a few funny bits, the first act is more a chuckle than a belly-holding laugh fest. The actors seemed to be working a bit too hard which became obvious as they go full steam into the ever more disastrous trajectory of the Noises On tour. Actually the middle act was always the best since it lets the audience see what's going on before and behind the curtain. And so it is here and while the third act continues on the previously reached high note, it seems to go on a bit too long. My quibbles aside I must confess that since I happened to have bought fresh sardines from my local fish monger, I did find myself chuckling as I ate my dinner. And speaking of sardines, be sure to read Michael Frayn's delightfully clever program-within-the program for Noises On which, besides that awful company's cast biographies comments on those look-alike little fish. |
Search CurtainUp in the box below PRODUCTION NOTES Noises Off by Michael Frayn Directed by Jeremy Herrin Cast (alphabetical order): Tracee Chimo (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Daniel Davis (Selsdon Mowbray),David Furr (Garry Lejeune), Kate Jennings Grant (Belinda Blair), Megan Hilty (Brooke Ashton), Andrea Martin (Dotty Otley), Rob McClure (Tim Allgood), Campbell Scott (Lloyd Dallas), Jeremy Shamos (Frederick Fellowes); Understudies: Jonathan Fielding (Frederick Fellowes, Tim Allgood), Meredith Forlenza (Brooke Ashton, Poppy Norton-Taylor) and Pippa Pearthree (Belinda Blair, Dotty Otley) Set Design:Derek McLane Costume Design: Michael Krass Lighting Design: Jane Cox Sound Design:Christopher Cronin Original Music: Todd Almond Hair & Wig Design:Paul Huntley Comedy Stunt Coordinator:Lorenzo Pisoni Dialect Consultant: Elizabeth Smith Production Stage Manager:Linda Marvel opening 1/14/16; closing 3/13/16 Reviewed by Elyse Sommer January 16th press matine by Michael Frayn Directed by Jeremy Herrin Cast (alphabetical order): Tracee Chimo (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Daniel Davis (Selsdon Mowbray),David Furr (Garry Lejeune), Kate Jennings Grant (Belinda Blair), Megan Hilty (Brooke Ashton), Andrea Martin (Dotty Otley), Rob McClure (Tim Allgood), Campbell Scott (Lloyd Dallas), Jeremy Shamos (Frederick Fellowes); Understudies: Jonathan Fielding (Frederick Fellowes, Tim Allgood), Meredith Forlenza (Brooke Ashton, Poppy Norton-Taylor) and Pippa Pearthree (Belinda Blair, Dotty Otley) Set Design:Derek McLane Costume Design: Michael Krass Lighting Design: Jane Cox Sound Design:Christopher Cronin Original Music: Todd Almond Hair & Wig Design:Paul Huntley Comedy Stunt Coordinator:Lorenzo Pisoni Dialect Consultant: Elizabeth Smith Production Stage Manager:Linda Marvel opening 1/14/16; closing 3/13/16 Reviewed by Elyse Sommer January 16th press matinee REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
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