Michael Frayn’s 1982 “Noises Off’, currently at the Old Globe on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage through Aug. 10th is billed ‘as the funniest show ever’.
It’s a farce; it’s loud and can be side splitting funny at times. To love farce, patience and perseverance are needed to endure the door slamming, which is essential, as is the hysterical, over the top behavior beyond any logical reasoning.
Farce isn’t about logical reason. It’s about repetition, which makes farce, farcical because by definition farce is about “absurdity, slapstick and exaggeration” of which this show has more than enough.
“Noises Off” is a play within a play that captures a touring theatre troupe’s production of “Nothing On” in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance, and the performance toward the end of a disastrous run.
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The Cast of Noises Off |
When we first meet the cast, which is excellent, they are in their final dress rehearsal. If you know anything about the theatre you can tell at a glance that they are clearly not ready for prime time. In fact, they are not quite ready for anything, not even entrances and exits, of which there are OH! so many.
To be brief if I may: Mrs. Clackett/Dotty (Linda Mugleston) is in charge of Belinda (Bryonha Marie) and Frederick’s (Jefferson Mays) house while they are on holiday; young Brooke (Michelle Veintimilla) is Garry’s (Nehal Joshi) sex toy girlfriend. Gary is a real estate salesperson who can’t remember his lines. Both find themselves in Fred and Belinda’s house for a little romp in one of the (ahem) empty bedrooms.
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Abby Leigh Huffstetler (top of Stairs) Orville Mendoza, Jefferson Mays, Linda Mugleston and Beyonha Marie |
They think no one is home and will have the house to themselves. SURPRISE! Belinda and Fred sneak home hoping for some much needed R&R only to find Brooke and Garry running about like banshees. Chaos ensues; the two couples who think they are alone go on a door slamming junket trying to find each other that’s ear splitting.
Poppy (Abby Leigh Huffstetler) is the assistant stage manager who is blamed for just about everything and blurts out that she’s pregnant with Lloyd’s baby. Selsdon (Orville Mendoza), likes to have a nip or two or three between his time on stage and waiting in the wings. Lloyd Dallas (James Waterston) is the director who is trying to hold his motley group together and is carrying on extra affairs with Poppy, Dotty and Brooke while planning for his next directorial job, the staging of “Richard III”.
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Jefferson Mays |
Along with flubbed lines, missed cues, falling trousers, tax evasion, sardines (yes sardines) real and imagined affairs and a director, ready to tear his hair out, a disappearing, deaf as a coot alcoholic and would be thief, lost contact lenses, and an out of control stage manager who thinks the director is in love with her, hilarious behind the scene peek that is pee in pants funny, it is more slapstick and buffoonery than farce.
In Act II Todd Rosenthal’s huge set is turned around while we see the mishigas and craziness from a backstage perspective. We can see and hear the actors on stage somewhat but the fun is in watching the antics of the actors backstage as they wait to go on stage.
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Michelle Veintimilla, Nehal Joshi, Linda Mugleston, Bryonha Marie, Jefferson Mays and James Waterston |
Some pretty raunchy and very funny stuff happens while the actors are waiting their turns to go on. Between all the hysterical running to and fro up and down stairs, (just watching Jefferson Mays hopping two flights of stair with his trousers down by his ankles is worth the price of a ticket) in and out of rooms and misunderstood conversations, the play within the play now on stage is headed for disaster. The actors are also on the verge of hating one another.
Act III takes place a month later and the tour has about run its course. We are now looking at the front of house and watching a performance of “Nothing On”, the same performance we saw during the tech’s, only this time the scene deconstructs and all hell breaks loose while the actors lose it.
They can’t remember their lines. Brooke can’t find her contact (it seems to be just in one eye), Selsdon is drinking more than ever, the actors are at each other’s throats, Lloyd is after assistant stage manager Tim (Matthew Patrick Davis) to get some flowers for Brooke, the scenery starts to fall apart, costumes (Izumi Inaba) are manhandled and the unruly becomes the norm. It’s quite funny and clever to see the deterioration and roll back of the act unfold. Sound design by Connor Wang and stunts by Jacob Grigolia Rosenbaum are to be commended.
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Jefferson Mays, Linda Mugleston and Nehal Joshi |
This production under director Gordon Greenberg is certainly funny. In fact, so funny that at times I was unable to hear all the lines since the audience was just eating it up. I don’t have a problem with the direction or the acting. My problem is with the play itself. The gags are old, the play is old and has seen its day. At one time it might have been the funniest show ever… but not so much now.
Enjoy.
See you at the theatre.
When: Runs through Aug. 3. 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays
Where: Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego
Tickets: $54-$143
Photo: Rich Soublet II
Phone: 619-234-5623
Online: theoldglobe.org