Noises Off
Tickets from $67 Buy Tickets
Cititour.com Review
If you’re not laughing uproariously through most of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s side-splitting revival of Michael Frayn’s brilliant comedy “Noises Off”, run immediately to the nearest emergency room to make sure you have a funny bone. Under Jeremy Herrin’s inventive direction, nine extraordinary performers, led by that beloved genius known as Andrea Martin, milk practically every giggle, guffaw and snort from this ingeniously constructed three-act vehicle. “Noises Off” gives us three different views of a touring production of an inane British farce called “Nothing On”. The first takes place at the show’s last technical rehearsal where most of the cast, led by beloved TV actress Dotty Ottley (Martin) as harried housekeeper Mrs. Clackett, can’t remember their cues, lines, or motivations – much to the frustration of weary director Lloyd Dallas (a brilliantly wry Campbell Scott).
The second act is shown from backstage, mid-tour, on a matinee after the unlikely love affair between Dotty and her younger leading man Garry LeJeune (a wonderful David Furr) has hit a snag, causing all sorts of shenanigans; Lloyd has come unexpectedly to calm down his unhappy lover, dumber-than-dumb blonde ingénue Brooke Ashton (an uproarious Megan Hilty in a Tony-worthy turn), and everyone, especially the seemingly unflappable Belinda Blair (an excellent Kate Jennings Grant), is trying to stop perpetual drunk Selsdon Mowbray (the invaluable Daniel Davis) from grabbing the bottle of booze Lloyd has brought as a gift for Brooke. These 30-or-so minutes simply redefine hilarious.
Finally, on the last night of the tour, exhaustion and near-dementia have set in among the cast, and they along with its set (well designed by Derek McLane) literally fall to pieces. But be warned: you may literally be falling off the edge of your seat from the hysterical hijinks. In this act, Martin really gets to show off her comic chops as Dotty goes truly dotty, while Rob McClure is priceless a nervous stage-manager Tim, who has to fill in briefly for bloody-nose-prone fellow actor Frederick Fellowes (a consistently sublime Jeremy Shamos). By the end, everyone somehow ends up on stage, including Lloyd and his other inamorata, timid stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor (the ever-wonderful Tracee Chimo, doing the most with the show’s smallest role).
Oh, one more thing, you’ll never be able to look at bathroom doors, black sheets, and especially sardines the same way again after seeing “Noises Off”. But that’s a small price to pay for two-and-a-half-hours of such marvelous mirth and merriment.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/Shows-Events/Noises-Off.aspx
Cast
Tracee Chimo, Daniel Davis, David Furr, Kate Jennings Grant, Megan Hilty, Andrea Martin, Rob McClure, Campbell Scott, Jeremy Shamos
Open/Close Dates
Opening 1/14/2016
Closing 3/13/2016
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 12/17/2015
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-719-1300
Theatre Info
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
Comments
Sign up for our newsletter !