Noises Off

Steppenwolf Theater's production of Noises Off may be considered an exceptional comedic farce— still, I'm not entirely convinced that it lives up to the hype as a side-splitting, must-see performance. It feels like a tired, recycled slapstick comedy rather than a witty, engaging experience. The plot has the cast and crew of "Nothing On" scrambling to prepare for opening night. Unfortunately, almost nothing is going right – the cast can't remember their lines, misplaced props, missed cues, and continuously questions the direction of the play, causing chaos and confusion. Each of the three acts of Noises Off contains a performance of the first act of a play within a play, as the actors diligently try but miserably fail to complete the entire performance of the hilarious farce. As the director proclaims, "It's all about doors and sardines, that's what it's all about, doors and sardines—getting on, getting off. Getting the sardines on, getting the sardines off. That's us, that's theater, that's life."

There may be a vote to take away my theatrical critic credentials. However, I've never been particularly drawn to slapstick comedy, as it often relies on exaggerated antics and over-the-top performances to generate laughter rather than genuine humor based on skillful acting. While I did see the 1992 film adaptation of Noises Off, featuring one of my all-time favorite actors, Carol Burrent, with Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Marilu Henner, Nicollette Sheridan, Julie Hagerty, and Mark Linn-Baker, I still felt the material wasn't as witty, but more like the exceptional talent onstage made the play delightful to watch. Speaking of extraordinary talent, "The Carol Burnett Show" with Harvey Korman and Tim Conway, and learning to be a comedic star, Vicki Lawrence had a natural talent for eliciting laughter, while other comedic acts, such as the British comedy troupe "The Monty Python," The Play That Goes Wrong, which highly influenced this play, nor even Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors," which tend to employ exaggerated and absurd humor, isn't my cup of tea. With the financial struggles of acting, it's hard to fathom why an actor would intentionally undermine a production, especially considering that it's their source of income and the prospects of securing another opportunity might be slim. Some may view it as a lack of understanding of the true brilliance of this kind of performance, and I will concur with one thing. The actors at Steppenwolf, featuring Ora Jones, Francis Guinan, James Vincent Meredith, Audrey Francis, Rick Holms, Amanda Fink, Andrew Leeds, Vaneh Assadourian, and Max Stewart, were outstanding and excellent with the material that they were given. I felt that the playwright and the material provided, one female, who is in real life a dumb blond that is not all there, wearing underwear. A man who lacks confidence needs a purpose to understand why he needs to carry items off stage and drop his trousers—another who is incapable of finishing a sentence but has impeccable onstage dialogue. And the continual banging of doors, opening and shutting, seemed to make too much effort to elicit laughter rather than allowing the humor to arise naturally.

The three-act play starts with a technical rehearsal where the director, Lloyd Dallas, tries to prepare them for tomorrow's performance. However, amid their struggles to connect and remember their cues, the actors are constantly missing their timing, on and off the stage, and misplacing props, such as the multiple plates of sardines—he's at his wit's end trying to get the production off the ground. The upcoming act two will take you backstage, where you'll witness the unfolding of exaggerated and comical conflicts unfolding in the cast members' relationships. In conclusion, act three features the total meltdown, where actors fighting backstage ad-lib their lines onstage, and to completely embarrass one another, they go into a comical, no-holds-barred fight to the finish. But is it worth seeing? Yes! Especially if you like slapstick comedy. The play Noises Off is intended to be an absolute disaster, and it delivers on that promise. It's hilariously chaotic, filled with ludicrous humor, and elicits uncontrollable childish giggling that you can't help but laugh—unless it's not your cup of tea.

⭐⭐⭐

Steppenwolf Theatre

Noises Off

By Michael Frayn

Directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro

September 12 - November 3, 2024

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