“Noises Off” takes you by the scruff of your neck and refuses to let go.
Art Manke directs the renowned comedy by English playwright Michael Frayn with a deft touch. The play-within-a-play captures the on-stage and off-stage histrionics of its cast members while performing “Nothing On,” an awful little farce.
But “Nothing On” quickly begins unraveling as the actors’ personal lives and actions intertwine with each other. The crew’s comedic timing is spot on. The tight, fast-paced dialogue keeps you from leaning back in your seat. Jennifer Lyon garners the biggest hoots for her depiction of Brooke Ashton, a dim, inexperienced actress who continues to perform regardless of the bedlam going on around her. She is part of the love triangle between Llyod Dallas, the director of “Nothing On,” and its assistant stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor.
Theater veteran Kandis Chappell delights as Dotty Otley, a middle-aged actress who has a major hand in the production descending from a clever-enough play into a menagerie of sorts with her fondness for sardines and her penchant for forgetting where she placed them.
Timothy Landfield and Bill Brochtrup take on the most physical parts of the slapstick comedy, making it seem like dropping one’s pants and jumping up stairs, two at a time, is what they do on a regular basis. Landfield plays Frederick Fellowes, an aging actor trying hard to juggle being the love interests of two women simultaneously. Brochtrup is Garry Lejeune, who is dating Dotty and is jealous of the attention she gives to Frederick.
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Purnima Mudnal
