Tony Award-winner Andrea Martin (Pippin, Young Frankenstein) makes her Roundabout Theatre Company debut in a rip-roaring new production of Michael Frayn's (Copenhagen) beloved comedy Noises Off!
The Opening Night performance of the farce Nothing On is just hours away, and as the cast stumbles through their final dress rehearsal, things couldn't be going any worse. With lines being forgotten, love triangles unraveling and sardines flying everywhere, it's complete pandemonium- and we haven't even reached intermission! Can the cast pull their act together on the stage even if they can't behind the scenes?
Full of shocking surprises and gut-busting humor, Noises Off is the classic show-within-a-show that "voyages to the outer limits of hilarity" (The New York Times). Two-time Olivier Award nominee Jeremy Herrin (This House) directs.
Noises Off is a precision-timed laugh machine, and director Jeremy Herrin's ensemble is peppered with some of New York's finest comic actors. So why did I chuckle so little-perhaps even less than at the weak 2001 mounting?...There's the culture gap: Good as our American troupers are, they don't quite get the jauntily sleazy vibe of English sex comedy...If nothing else, this should be a retro hoot and a chance for nine actors to show off their slapstick and goofing. How can anyone not cackle at master-of-squirm Jeremy Shamos slipping-for what seems an entire minute-in sardine juice? Okay, that one got me. So, fleetingly, did other elements: Megan Hilton's blond ditz, giving superbly wooden-chirpy line readings; Rob McClure's mousy, frantic understudy/stagehand; and Andrea Martin, going full zany and threatening a cheating lover with an ax. But these are only sparks, not a blaze.
Broadway's fitfully funny 'Noises Off' reminds that it's tricky to perfectly bake this triple layer cake of a comedy. This production gets about it about halfway right -- so even with a soggy and slack final stretch, you're left grinning over the show's sly inner workings...Director Jeremy Herrin's staging features a number of Roundabout regulars not known for broad comedy, but David Furr, Jeremy Shamos, Tracee Chimo and Kate Jennings Grant step up. Martin, a comic ace, brings signature unhinged unpredictability -- a boon to any comedy. Daniel Davis, as wayward senior actor Selsdon, has a goofy demented look in his eyes. Megan Hilty lets it all hang out in pink lingerie and is terrific as a terrifically bad actress. Shining brightest is Rob McClure, who loads fun and finesse into the small role of an overtaxed prop manager and understudy, who shivers from stagefright like an overgrown Chihuahua.
1983 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2001 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2015 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Production Broadway |
2019 | West End |
West End Production West End |
2023 | West End |
West End |
2023 | West End |
West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Jeremy Herrin |
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Megan Hilty |
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Noises Off |
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Christopher Cronin |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | David Furr |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Megan Hilty |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Megan Hilty |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Michael Frayn |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Michael Krass |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | David Furr |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Megan Hilty |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Andrea Martin |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Noises Off |
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