Doors and sardines! On and off! That’s farce. That’s theatre. That’s life! And it’s farcical live theatre at Players On Air this October with their production of Noises Off directed by Michael Livingston. It’s a madcap comical farce of actors acting, drama being highly over-dramatized, and bloody sardines pulling a spectacular Houdini act! It’s a barrel of laughs, a bucket of fun, and a show you won’t want to miss.
Anyone familiar with Michael Frayn’s iconic play Noises Off will immediately recognize the set as a chaotic character and law onto itself. For those unfamiliar with the play, the monstrous 2-storey set has no fewer than eight doors and has to function on its front-facing side as a fully furnished, lavish interior house, and on its back side has to look like the ‘back of a set’ while still being structurally sound enough to support all the shenanigans that happen all over it during the course of the second act. And did I mention, the set has to rotate so that the audience can see both the front and the back in acts one, two, and three respectively. Scenic Conceptual Artist and Designer Ryan Geiger displays a brilliant architectural prowess which is fortified to vibrant life by Set Constructor Mike Wonsala making the set the true 10th character in the production. Not to mention all of the resplendent and decadent interior decorations coming from Set Decorator Laura Wonsala; these are the proverbial icing on the cake, giving the interior that antique yet charming feel required of such an enormous set.
With Michael Frayn’s farcical script there is little room for error when it comes to comedic delivery, timing, and the overall pacing of the production. Director Michael Livingston has masterfully executed a show tempo that keeps the audience engaged, has the comedy of the farce landing in spades (and sardines!) and overall will have the audience rolling with laughter at all of the antics that get carried out over the course of the three acts. Sharp pacing is a critical component to the show’s success, particularly in the first act where the audience is being primed for the rest of the play. It’s a play, in its final dress rehearsal, continuously interrupted as such rehearsals are wont to be, by this, that, and the other, with the in-show ‘director’ losing his patience and cool as the act progresses. Livingston sets the tone and tempo right from the starting gate, which blazes a path for the natural farcical and comedic elements of the show to land with perfection and ease. Act II is performed practically in double-time, with the audience experiencing the mishaps and mayhem from the ‘backstage’ perspective, and Act III gets underway at warp-speed slowed down by drunken antics and confused chaos. It’s also worth noting the personalized touches that Livingston has added to the performance, stating that they’re starting their dress rehearsal of “Nothing On” right there in Panther Auditorium in Hampstead, with the intention of moving the tour to “Toby’s Dinner Theatre” in Columbia and for the third act, “The Hippodrome” in downtown Baltimore. This is a hometown nod to the success of local theatres (and the gradient path one takes from lil backwoods community to ‘big touring stage’) in the state of Maryland.
Livingston has pulled together a cast of aces. The statement, “there are no small parts only small actors” comes immediately to mind as even the most cameo-supporting of the roles in this script are being filled by grade-A talent and performed like they were meant to be leading stars. The cohesion with which the company works to move the show down the fiery train tracks to its ultimate hilarious (and intentional) derailment is beyond commendable. You can tell that they are a group of actors who understand the script, the show, and each other when it comes to getting all of the comic violence, mishap, and other chicanery up on its feet for this production. It’s also worth praising the sibling duo of Heather and Justin Skinner, the productions’ actual Stage Managers for keeping things running so smoothly. The Skinner siblings, as well as director Livingston and several other members of the tech crew are the intrinsic success in manipulating the set between acts, mastering it to a fine science of 15 minutes or fewer, which the audience is encouraged to watch so that they can embrace and appreciate the magic.
As previously mentioned there are no small roles in this show. Tim Allgood (Ben Azat) may have limited ‘on-stage’ time, but when the character does appear there is hilarity aplenty. Azat plays the ‘worked-to-death’ stage-hand who is building sets, fixing on-set problems, covering as the assistant stage manager, at the beck and call of the director, and also covering drunk actors when the chaotic mess hits the proverbial fan. Azat does an excellent job of portraying a sleep-deprived, underpaid, and overworked individual right from the moment he pops up snoozing behind the on-set couch. And when he’s forced into a ‘character cover’ during the third act of the show, his physical nerves are so over pronounced you can almost feel his arms shaking with their nervous twitch. It adds to the flavorful comedy that is being set down by the other more bombastic characters in the performance.
Michael Frayn’s play is built on stereotypes and caricatures. And what better a stereotypical caricature than the actor who’s just a little too old and a little hard of hearing with a drinking problem but you keep him around because he’s been there since time immemorial? Enter Selsdon (Dennis Skinner.) Watching Skinner chase the whiskey bottle around all during the second act is a delight all its own. Finding the nuances of the crazy old character actor, Skinner adds yet another layer of comic gold to the production, which just furthers the good time to be had by the audience. The way he fumbles and bumbles through the lines that the character can’t quite grasp is humorous and when it comes to the way he parrots back (intentionally incorrectly) what he’s misheard, there’s no stopping the audience laughter that accompanies it, especially because of the exasperated responses from Selsdon’s fellow co-stars.
Poor Poppy Norton-Taylor (Sammi Azat). The liberally abused and disused stage manager who clearly has never had to do stage-manager type things before. Azat takes on this role with a meek manner that has the audience both sympathizing with the character and ready to hate on the in-show Director, Lloyd. Congenial, convivial, and full of a delicate warmth that we’d all like to see in a stage manager, Azat plays her timid character well. But don’t be fooled, when Azat’s Poppy finds something to be upset over, she lets it all fly. This is particularly hilarious as it happens in mime rather than words. (The entire second act’s shenanigans are praiseworthy as the trap of whisper-shouting is all too real when it comes to lengthy miming scenes and no one in the cast falls victim to it.)
Serving as the little voice of reason and a calming balm to Lloyd’s out of control temper, Belinda (Laura Wonsala) is the balance amid the first act chaos. Wonsala, like the rest of the cast, quickly falls into the chaos of Michael Frayn’s script, particularly in the second act where her miming charades are hilarious. Wonsala has a natural flair for ‘creation on the spot’ (even though what’s coming out of her mouth in the third act is scripted, the scene is meant to read as if she’s being forced to improvise her way through the chaos.) Her delivery of this ‘forced improvisation’ is extraordinary and if you didn’t know the show you’d believe she was making most of it up in an attempt to cover up all the massive (scripted and intentional) mistakes that were befalling the production. And when she gets hold of the whiskey bottle, watch out! You’ll scream with laughter.
Wind tunnel from ear to ear, the Brooke/Vicki character is a high caricature of ‘beauty before brains’ in this production and actress Sarah Michaels is slaying it with her comical airheaded approach to the role. The character of Brooke lacks the ability to improvise when things start going wrong in the second and third act and Michaels does a superb job of being that ‘rote-n-practiced’ actor who just goes with exactly what’s written, exactly the way it’s been rehearsed and the result is hysterical. When the Brooke character inevitably starts losing her contacts or has to go into her ‘calming exercises’ Michaels has the house screaming with laughter over the way she physically interprets both of these instances. She’s engaging her full physicality to maximum comic impact and the result is sheer genius.
Speaking of physical antics, the Freddy character, played aptly by Chris Fronheiser, is another one prone to nonsense movements in this production. While the Freddy character is yet another caricature, this time of the “actor who questions everything because they understand nothing and holds up the rehearsal for everyone in the most annoying fashion possible” (we’ve all experienced that actor; some of us have been that actor), Fronheiser finds a hilarious depth in Freddy when it comes to internalizing the chaos all around him. And there’s also the blood and violence. Fronheiser delivers epic over-the-top responses to violence and blood, making the insanity of the second and third act so much more enjoyable for the audience. And of course, no one struggles better at being caught with literal pants around the ankles than Fronheiser’s Freddy. It’s worth noting that when the in-show director, Lloyd, shoots Fronheiser’s Freddy down for stopping the rehearsal every few minutes during the first act with his asinine questions about understanding the script and the character motive, that Fronheiser— without missing a bit— stares blankly on and just angles further for an answer to his question. This adds gallons of comedic fuel to the funny fire to get the comedy flames cranking in the early bits of the show.
Sardines, sardines, telephones, and newspapers. You would think being the housekeeping, prop-minding character actress would come easily for the character of Dotty (Katie Sheldon) but like everyone else in the production, by the second and third act, she’s lost her mind, marbles, and yes, her sardines. Sheldon does a brilliant job of delivering that hard, working-class cockney sound when she’s playing Mrs. Clackett, which is the ‘in-show’ character. And when she drops into her perfectly normal, slightly Baltimore sound as ‘Dotty’ the transition is striking. (It’s almost like she’s had practically perfect practice at flying through those accents or something.) Sheldon delivers a masterful performance as the Dotty/Clackett character throughout the production but none so hilarious and smart as during the third act when her character meant to be drunk. Sheldon does not fall into the trap of being ‘overly drunk’, slurring her words, stumbling around; she is not an actress that takes the low-hanging fruit. Sheldon’s drunk Dotty/Clackett is a refined and hilarious drunk. She knows she’s drunk and isn’t shy about hiding from us that she’s drunk but isn’t so overtly drunk that it’s raw and base slapstick on feet. Her miming deserves high praises during the second act any time she gets into it with either Gary or Freddy.
Crotchety. Curmudgeonly. Exasperated beyond belief. All the hallmarks of a director on final dress who sees that the light at the end of the tunnel is actually an oncoming train ready to flatten them all into the tracks. That would be Director Lloyd Dallas (John Sheldon.) The sheer deadpan that Sheldon delivers, particularly when dressing down Freddy for his obnoxious interruptions of the ‘dress rehearsal’ in the first act, is too comical for words. Watching Sheldon’s temper build and burble and ultimately blast out the front of his mouth is also an enjoyable feat. The character of Lloyd Dallas is somewhat static, a one-note of anger, but Sheldon finds a way to give him a little more of a dynamic shape, particularly when it comes to his messy affairs involving certain other ‘cast and crew’ members. When Sheldon’s character finds himself thrust into the gobsmacking chaos of the third act it’s a delightful scream to see the utter bewilderment and confusion painted all over his person.
Comic captain and winner of the Nothing-On-Noises-Off bust-a-gut-hilarity award is Adam Abruzzo in the role of Garry. Abruzzo is a sensei of comic timing and delivery with much to teach the world at large when it comes to things like comedy through restricted movement, the art of how to fall down stairs, and much, much more. Abruzzo’s character gets to fall not once but twice in this production (the first time, during the second act, is all thrilling acapella vocalizations and banging about so that we can envision the fall that we’re treated to visually consuming during the third act) and its flipping hysterical. (No Adam Abruzzo’s were harmed in the making of this production.) And when he starts exacting revenge on— well— various and sundry during the second act, particularly with his hopping-about and axe-swinging tendencies, you’ll be leaking tears from laughing so hard at his tomfoolery. Some of the most priceless moments that Abruzzo delivers as Gary is his utter exasperation both during the third act as he tries vainly to move the Brooke character to an entrance or exit and improv all around the character who simply will not break what she’s memorized. It’s too funny for accurate descriptions.
Ultimately a scream, the play is the feel-good pick-me-up that everyone needs as we head into the chilly nights of autumn. Noises Off is a limited two-weekend engagement so do not wait to get your tickets. You won’t want to miss busting your gut laughing over this one.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with two intermissions
Noises Off plays through October 10, 2021 with Player’s On Air in the main auditorium of the new Panthers Performing Arts Center— 1400 Panther Drive in Hampstead, MD. Tickets are available at the door or in advance online.
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