Theater Works' Noises Off
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 11/13/98
(out of )Generally, Theater Works has been a solid producer of farces. What they lack in timing and precision they've often made up for in sheer exuberance and energy. Their current production of Michael Frayn's hilarious front-and-backstage farce, Noises Off is a perfect example of what to expect from this nearing-the-edge-of-professional community theatre group. While no one in the cast stands out, and the direction is sometimes slightly off, there's never a doubt that an audience member will laugh at the hilarity of the situation, even as they miss some of the wonderful lines, or can only guess at some bits of action that have not succeeded.
The play centers on the on- and off-stage shenanigans during the
American tour of the imaginary British farce, Nothing On.
For every plot complication that the fictitious author has thrown
into the silly work, the cast has created three of their own,
often the fault of romances, misunderstandings, and gossip. The
first act watches the cast struggle through their final dress
rehearsal, and establishes their on- and off-stage personae and
relationships, the second turns the entire play around, literally,
and views a performance later in the tour from the backstage area,
then returns to the first act of the show in yet another city,
when the fighting offstage becomes the play onstage. This play
has become a standard in community and semi-professional theatres,
and for good reason: you have to really work at doing the show
badly to send an audience away unhappy.
The good news, and the bad news, is that Director Lyman Akers
and his cast do not work at doing the show badly, but also don't
have the precision and attention to detail that would make this
a spectacular production. It's a funny script, but sloppy farce
is like melo-drama; Each of these can work, but wouldn't
an audience rather sit through a sharp farce and a taut drama?
If a farce is not perfectly choreographed, the script can still
carry you, but should it? I must temper my criticism by mentioning
that this play is one of the most difficult farces in terms of
stage business. Professional companies have trouble mounting this
show. But even if the show can rest on its wonderful book, Mr.
Akers should have drilled his troops more intensely to ensure
that this production would not have to. There are many wonderful
bits of stage business, and most of the pratfalls and quick changes
work, but a large number did not.
The cast was acceptable, if not stellar. No one stood out, either
in a good way or bad. Athena Reiss as lead actress and
producer Dotty Otley, and William Thomas as stage manager
Tim Allgood are perfect examples of this. Ms. Reiss handled quite
a bit of the business well, and had her character down pat, but
became a bit sloppy when the hardest of the scenes took place.
Mr. Thomas, on the other hand, overplayed his role a bit, and
seemed to miss some cues, but had some bits of business that were
priceless, and balanced some of the lack of shading of his character.
This kind of trade-off occurred with the rest of the cast, including
Kevin Hemstreet as the director, who had the wisecracking
down perfectly, but was not precise with some of his movements,
Ty Yeatts as Garry Lejeune, the young actor with a romantic
attachment to Ms. Otley, who was skilled in pratfalls, but imprecise
with his characters and enunciation, and Tim Farrell as
the old and drunken character actor Selsdon Mowbray, who was much
too young for the role, and dropped his character like a hot potato
on several occasions, but also had several bits of business that
almost made one forget those prior moments and problems.
The designers of the show really outdid themselves. In what may
have been one of the best sets I've seen from Theater Works, Michael
Brooks and Gregory Jaye were able to create the double-sided
set necessary for this show. Kudos go to them for putting together
a set that, in many ways, surpassed some of the sets I had seen
for this production done professionally. The set change between
the second and third sections went so smoothly, it was a vindication
of the monstrous set done by Mr. Jaye for their last production
of She Loves Me.
David Empey's lighting worked flawlessly and enhanced the
visuals of the show. Carolyn Lamkins' costumes were more
hit-and-miss, especially with the costuming of ingenue Liz
DuChez, but did not detract from the show. Michelle Gardner's
meticulous and perfectly executed sound design was another highlight.
For all of my bluster and bravado about sloppiness, I must admit
that I did enjoy myself overall. Still, I can't help but wonder
how much more I would have enjoyed the show if I had heard every
line as I was supposed to, and seen all of the intricate and wonderful
stage business executed well. A prospective audience member, though,
may not be as picky, and be happy with getting only 80% of the
show, since that much is still worth the price of admission.
Production Details:
Noises Off by Michael Frayn
Theater
Works, Peoria
815-7930
October 30th through November 29th, 1998