Review: NOISES OFF at Susquehanna Stage

What is more entertaining, the performance on stage or the dramedy behind the scenes? Inspired by watching one of his own productions from backstage, playwright Michael Frayn's Noises Off provides the audience with a glimpse of the chaos that occurs during rehearsals and the potential pitfalls happening offstage.

This play-within-a-play begins with the dress rehearsal for Nothing On, a farce involving a rowdy cast of characters who, at times, find themselves with their pants down. The audience roars with laughter as the actors miss cues and fumble lines as they prepare for opening night. The director of Nothing On, LLoyd Dallas, grows increasingly frustrated as time begins to run out and the opening weighs heavy.

The second act takes place after Nothing On has been running for a while. For this act, however, the set is reversed and the audience has a front row seat to the drama stirring behind stage. Having a basic understanding of what is supposed to happen in the story (the story of Nothing On that is), the audience is now privy to the actors attempting to hit their marks and hear their cues while engulfed in various romances, squabbles, and other pantomimed antics (one must be quiet behind stage).

The third and final act turns the set back around again. This time watching the final night of the run. Knowing full well what the actors are supposed to be doing and how critical the cues, lines, and interactions are to make Nothing On successful, the audience can't stop laughing as actors skip lines, enter through the wrong door, and fall down stairs. The story quickly falls apart and becomes a misadventure in rewriting the show live.

To pull off such a show is no small feat. The creative script requires set design, direction, and actors to be highly agile and spot on. This is one reason that Noises Off is one of my favorite comedy shows. The pace and havoc, that is this show, often means the production either rises to the occasion or it just doesn't work. Noises Off is either a highly entertaining night of fast paced hilarity, or it is not. Fortunately for this audience, it was!

The set design, by Gary McCrady, worked Beautifully in the space and the crew were able to make the needed adjustments in quick time making for short intermissions. In addition to the need for great creativity in set design and stage production, the script creates enormous challenges for the cast.

The cast members not only had to perform Nothing On and the character in that show, they also needed to play the actor portraying that character in Noises Off. If this is confusing to the audience (or reader) imagine the minds of the actors portraying these characters. For the audience at Susquehanna Stage, however, there was no confusion. The cast seamlessly move from one character to another and created a show that was easy to follow and a joy to watch.

As this is an ensemble show with no star and supporting cast, the success relies on the ability of the director to find and cultivate numerous actors who can not only bring the role to life but have the chemistry with one another to make the show believable. Once again, director Jim Johnson has assembled a wonderful group of talented actors.

The Susquehanna Stage has brought Live theater back to Marietta and did so with enormous laughter. For more information about this and future shows visit https://www.susquehannastage.com/.

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