By the end of Michael Frayn’s out-of-control carousel of a farce, Noises Off (1982), you, too, like the hapless characters enmeshed in this peerless comedy, will feel as if you’ve been pricked in the ass by a cactus, had your pants pulled down, fallen down the stairs, been embroiled in numerous affairs, forgotten your lines, been chased by a jealous lover with a fire ax, and have collapsed unconscious on the floor with a nose bleed.
You will also learn the exact timing in how to open and shut the seven doors so prominently on display in Tim Mackabee’s detailed and solid English country home set. You can’t have too many doors in a farce.
You will be out of breath, panting heavily. Funny, though, that the Alley pros seem to have found their second wind. They seem fresh and ready to repeat the mayhem all over again. We, meanwhile, have been battered by laughter – ours. I haven’t heard so much sustained merriment at the Alley in seasons. Is this classic comedy the funniest play in decades? Not since the wit and anarchic spirit of ‘30s Kaufman and Hart has there been a genuine lighthearted romp like this one.
Frayn’s wily sparkler is a backstage valentine to the theater, though this love card’s lace is frayed around the edges and quickly losing its glitter. To pad her dwindling pension, minor celebrity Dotty Otley (Elizabeth Bunch in frowsy Cockney mode) has formed a company to produce a sex farce titled “Nothing On.” Her taste in actors is as suspect as her choice in plays.
A regional tour has been arranged, and Act I takes place at the final rehearsal of Nothing On hours before opening night. Needless to say, no one’s ready for prime time. Director Lloyd (Todd Waite, devilishly exasperated) can not pull any of these hopeless amateurs or this hopeless play into cohesion. Dotty can’t remember her simple action of hanging up the phone, putting down the newspaper, and leaving the plate of sardines.
Pitiful Freddy (Christopher Salazar) prods Lloyd for needless character motivation; Belinda (Michele Elaine) is the eternal optimist, goading her cast members with repeated “darlings” and “love;” faded matinee idol Garry (Dylan Godwin, popping his eyes like Eddie Cantor on meth) never finishes a thought without adding, “You know what I mean?” Nobody ever knows what he means.
Harried handyman and understudy Tim (Chris Hutchison) has worked 24/7 and sleepwalks through his duties; incompetent stage manager Poppy (Melissa Molano) is having an affair with Lloyd; Brooke (Nicole Rodenburg) is an airhead who looks fantastic in bustier lingerie, her true talent; while Selsdon (David Rainey with perfect deadpan) drinks continuously. This is the cast of comedic misfits ready and willing to do great mischief to the theater.
Act II is set one month later on their slog of a tour through the English backwater. In a coup de theatre, the stage set for Nothing On revolves to reveal the backstage area where we watch the play from behind the scenes. (The opening night audience whooped and hollered at this turntable prestidigitation.)
Alliances have formed, affairs are going on, and everyone has had enough of everybody else. This is where the ax, the cactus, and numerous bouquets of flowers come to life. Most of this is played in pantomime or frenzied whispers since actors backstage are supposed to be quiet. This is the province of silent film comedy with whiplash precision and heads just missed by that flailing ax. The frantic action gets a bit blurry, a little too controlled, but this will be smoothed out, no doubt, as the run progresses. This is tricky stuff, but director Brandon Weinbrenner keeps this fiery pinwheel spinning with giddy delight.
Act III is out front, like in Act I. Two months have passed and the misguided troupe is on its final performance. Every thread that Frayn has carefully stitched in the preceding acts pulls loose in delirious ways. Their nerves frayed, the actors don’t care anymore. As the play goes haywire, the flubbed lines and silly improvisations add to this glorious catastrophe.
Frayn’s structure is flawless, always one beat ahead of where we think we’re headed. The humor builds upon humor, more crazed and frenzied. And yet, these intrepid amateurs (and our Alley pros) go on no matter what befalls them. This is the heart of live theater, captured in a sex farce within a sex farce.
Noises Off is a very good show, indeed. In the Alley’s whiz-bang production you will leave the theater laughing. What more can you ask from a comedy?
Noises Off continues 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.
