Reviewed by Nyla Arslanian
Having seen a New York production of Noises Off, I was excited to see the show opened at
The Geffen, one of our city's best theatre spaces. I was not disappointed by this collaboration between The Geffen and Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Noises Off was exactly the theatre we needed after what has occurred over the past two weeks.
Truth be told, it had been so long since I'd seen the play (slightly over 40 years), I'd forgotten the structure although recalling that it was a play within a play format. A disembodied voice from the back of the theatre and the antics that followed, I was quickly swept up into the fun and hilarity.
Anyone who has ever performed on stage (which I have) will instantly relate to the various onstage problems that can occur, a set malfunction, a prop misplaced, a line forgotten, an entrance missed. Even those who haven't had the experience are instantly drawn into the fun.
Farce is not an easy theatrical form and physical farce, certainly the most difficult. This is not comedy where an actor can play for laughs, it is a play precisely choreographed for timing and movement. Michael Frayn's Noises Off is a masterpiece and a good time is had by all.
In Act One, the actors and the premise is introduced as a scene is rehearsed with the director coming on stage to conjole and encourage his cast. On to Act Two and all hell breaks loose as the set is reversed and the audience is privy to all the backstage antics while actually hearing on stage dialog that by now is familiar to us. By Act Three, the show has been playing at various theatres for months, and the end is near-in more ways than one as the ridiculous becomes the sublime.
The cast melds perfectly and each is a standout. Director Lloyd Dallas (Rick Holmes), Stage manager Poppy (Vahen Assadourian) and Tech Assistant Tim Allgood (Max Stewart) provide some sanity, but are also caught up in the mayhem.
The first and third act are set in an English Manor "set." Mrs. Clackett/Dotty Otley, the maid/housekeeper (Ora Jones ) opens the play and with her Cockney accent we know we're in merry England. One by one the other characters appear and the fun begins. There's Brooke Ashton as "Vicki" (Amanda Fink) whose physical comedy timing ala Carol Burnett is played to the hilt, her paramour onstage Garry Lejeune as "Roger Tramplemain" (David Lind) compliments her hijinks masterfully.
At the opening of Act Two, the audience watches the set revolve and we are privy to all the backstage action. We soon learn that there's more than dalliances onstage happening among the cast members. Belinda Blair as "Flavia Brent (Audrey Francis), Frederick Fellowes as "Phillip Brent" (James Vincent Meredith), and Seisdon Mowbray as "Burglar" (Francis Guinan) all deliver precise performances.
Kudos to director Anna D. Shapiro. Her keen eye and sense of timing made the onstage (and backstage) action seem spontaneous-not an easy feat.
Noises Off is British farce at its finest and was well worth the 40-year wait to see it on a Los Angeles stage.
Noises Off runs Wednesdays - Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays 3pm and 8pm and Sundays 2pm and 7pm thru March 9 in the Gil Cates Theatre at Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024. A play in three actions runs 2 hours and 30 minutes including two intermissions.
Tickets currently priced at $41.00 - $155.00. Available by phone at 310.208.2028 or online at
www.geffenplayhouse.org
. Fees may apply.