NOISES OFF AND ON AND OFF AND ON
Presented in partnership with L.A.’s Geffen Playhouse (where Steppenwolf Ensemble Member Tarell Alvin McCraney is the new Artistic Director), Steppenwolf’s production throws some of Chicago’s top talent on Todd Rosenthal‘s spectacular set to perform an outdated farce. Many regular theatregoers have probably come across Noises Off at some point in their lives. If you go, you’ll certainly have fun. But as door-slamming actors run up and down the stairs, that creaking you hear isn’t coming from the treads and risers, but the play.
Andrew Leeds (on floor), Max Stewart, Francis Guinan, Rick Holmes,
Audrey Francis, James Vincent Meredith and Ora Jones
Ora Jones, Francis Guinan, Rick Holmes,
Audrey Francis, Amanda Fink and Vaneh Assadourian
With so much talent onstage (and off) I was a bit surprised Steppenwolf didn’t put some kind of twist on this production. I expected some new take on Noises Off that hadn’t been done before, but this is just a high-quality production of Noises Off exactly as you’d expect to see it, a marathon of dropped plates and lines, slammed doors, disappearing luggage, smashed windowpanes, and flailing axes. It’s worth the watch for the novelty of seeing awesome artists putting their magic into an enjoyably ridiculous piece of theatre.
Ora Jones, James Vincent Meredith and Audrey Francis
Noises Off tells the story of a chaotic production of a fictional bedroom farce titled Nothing On. In Act I, unstable actors continually stop the final dress rehearsal while a frustrated director desperately tries to get everyone to remember their blocking and an overworked stage crew tries to stay awake and not cry (too much). In Act II, the audience is privy to the backstage area during a performance of the same play. Now messy interpersonal drama has been added to the mix. Act III brings us back to the stage during a performance toward the end of this company’s run, where everything finally falls irrevocably apart. Noises Off has been a beloved comedy for many years, but I must say, I think it’s time for this farce to retire. It seems to me to be a relic of the past.
(top) Andrew Leedswith, (front) James Vincent Meredith, Ora Jones,
Rick Holmes, Vaneh Assadourian and Audrey Francis
(top) Audrey Francis, (front) Vaneh Assadourian, Rick Holmes, Amanda Fink,
James Vincent Meredith, Andrew Leeds and Ora Jones
Comedy is very subjective, both to the person watching but also to the time period. Comedies tend to age more poorly than dramas, and Noises Off’s age is showing. Written in 1982 by Michael Frayn, some jokes still land and land hard, but many have gone stale or just aren’t quite as funny as perhaps they once were. The evening I saw the show, there were some conspicuously quiet moments from an audience that seemed hungry for raucous laughter, which leads me to believe I’m not the only one feeling the age.
Andrew Leeds, Ora Jones and Francis Guinan
(center) Amanda Fink, (back) James Vincent Meredith, Francis Guinan, Audrey Francis
When it first premiered, Noises Off was seen as one of the funniest play ever written, and maybe in 1982 that was true, but in my opinion funnier things have since come along — I prefer The Play That Goes Wrong, the modern iteration of Noises Off with a very similar premise and more belly laughs, at least for my sense of humor.
Amanda Fink and Audrey Francis
Now that I’ve made it seem like I sat there stone-faced the entire time, I’d like to assure you I did laugh quite a lot, especially in the second act, for which the stage rotates on a turntable to reveal the backstage area and all the shenanigans happening there. Even if it’s no longer the funniest play, Noises Off is still good for a diversion, especially in the extremely capable hands of director Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County) and this powerhouse cast. Audrey Francis as actress Belinda Blaire and her character role Flavia Brent and Francis Guinan as Selsdon Mowbray/Burglar are the standout comedic powerhouses of this production, but there isn’t a weak link in a cast so strong they could carry anything: Vaneh Assadourian, Amanda Fink, Rick Holmes, Ora Jones, and James Vincent Meredith are wonderful, and Andrew Leeds exhibits masterful physical comedy as Garry Lejeune/Roger Tramplemain. Steppenwolf newcomer Max Stewart shines as the stagehand Tim Allgood: his performance was notably the most natural, bringing a looseness that aided this play’s comedy immensely.
Rick Holmes and Francis Guinan with Vaneh Assadourianin in back
James Vincent Meredith, Max Stewart, Ora Jones, Vaneh Assadourian and Audrey Francis
Even if it’s no longer the funniest play, Noises Off is still good for a laugh. And perhaps that’s what regional theaters like Steppenwolf and The Old Globe in San Diego — which just announced it has added Noises Off to their current season — are banking on: It’s impossible to laugh at the farcical catalog of calamities playing out on the nightly news, so perhaps watching a farce onstage helps to release the pressure by chuckling at the inanity of it all. Even if that farce itself is somewhat inane.
photos by Michael Brosilow
Noises Off
a co-production with Geffen Theatre
Steppenwolf Theatre Company Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.
ends on October 27, 2024 EXTENDED to November 3, 2024
Tues-Fri at 7:30; Sat at 3 & 7:30; Sun at 3
for tickets (beginning at $20) call 312.335.1650 or visit Steppenwolf
for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago