Seven years ago on opening night of The 39 Steps at the Alley Theatre, the two lead characters played by Elizabeth Bunch and Todd Waite are handcuffed together by one of the bad guys. Waite played the reluctant hero; Bunch played three mystery women he’s encountered. What is supposed to follow is their desperate flight across the moors and under a stile while bound together.
Except.
“The handcuffs where we were supposed to be attached just exploded when we made one twist and broke into a million pieces,” Bunch says, remembering how she and Waite scrambled to deal with an essential part of the plot that had just disintegrated in their hands. (They did so well ad libbing that many audience members couldn’t decide if this was part of the script or not.)
What may be Bunch’s favorite back stage story of all time is all in keeping with the Alley’s upcoming production of Noises Off, this sendup of the Alfred Hitchcock 1935 thriller. With a play within a play format, audiences get an up close look at all the things that can go wrong backstage that then transfer to an onstage performance.
Bunch plays Dotty Otley in the iconic play written by Michael Frayn and directed by Alley Associate Artistic Director Brandon Weinbrenner. It is a role, she says, she has wanted for a long time.
“People talk about Hamlet and these dream roles that people get to play. This is a dream role for me. I love doing comedies that ask more of me honestly than some of the best dramatic roles that I’ve ever played.
“As far as the world of the female comic it’s got kind of mythic status. I’m totally entranced by the lineage of the women that have played this part before me. I haven’t gotten to sink my teeth into something like this since maybe 39 Steps or Boeing Boeing where it’s these wonderful farces that get you to act and move and play and react before your brain can get involved. It’s just a dream for an actor.”
Dotty is a fading star who can’t quite remember her lines or her blocking. She’s also the producer of a sex farce called Nothing On in the hopes of shoring up her bank account. Accompanying her are a crew of second-rate actors and a very harried and over the top director.
Besides Bunch, the cast includes Alley’s Resident Acting Company members Michelle Elaine as Belinda Blair, Dylan Godwin as Garry Lejeune, Chris Hutchison as Tim Allgood, Melissa Molano as Poppy Norton-Taylor, David Rainey as Selsdon Mowbray, Christopher Salazar as Fredrick Fellowes, and Todd Waite as Lloyd Dallas. Nicole Rodenburg (As You Like It, Venus in Fur) is Brooke Ashton.
Why the enduring attraction of this play? “Knowing the structure of the play. Unlike Agatha Christie this is an easy one to talk about,” Bunch says. “It doesn’t give anything away because the moment to moment work among the actors is so electric and spontaneous that it doesn’t matter how many times you see this play, every production is going to be different and frankly every night could be different because of the electricity in the air.
“It’s great that the first act is learning what this play is. Everybody who doesn’t have a theatrical background gets to learn what is supposed to happen as we watch them rehearse the play for the final time.
“And Act II getting to see the backstage antics. You could see this play a million times and there really isn’t a script for Act II. There are blueprints laid out by Michael Frayn. This fight happens and this fight happens and this prop is introduced as the actors go crazy and find this kind of mania backstage, but it’s by this company at the Alley and Brandon Weinbrenner because you can’t outline what everybody’s doing. It’s a dance.
“And then Act III when you flip the set back around and you see them on their final performance after touring the show and everything has gone crazy and how they’re beat down. Although the lines are there, it’s what’s happening in between the lines. Every production is it’s own kind of journey.”
Dottie Otley starts the show by her not remembering what her blocking is. “It is the perfect reflection of what an actor goes through,” Bunch says laughing. “We’re all having the Otley moments. Wait, I put this on first and then I put the thing down and then I get the bottle. No, I get the bottle down and then I get the newspaper. We’re living in a constant state of confusion that is very real and very mirrorlike to the play.”
One of the main things people ask her about as a live theater actor is what does she do when something goes wrong, Bunch says..
“And that’s what this play is about. Finding the joy in these kind of stage moments.”
“The thing that this play can give us is a catharsis. The idea that you can sit in a theater full of strangers and all completely let loose with abandon and enjoy riding a roller coaster before you’re prepared for them, before the people on stage appear to be prepared for them is a cathartic moment. People love experiencing this play because you can let loose and fully enjoy yourself.”
Performances are scheduled for September 27 through October 27 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $29-$105.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
