Review: Hilton Head theater presents hysterically funny farce within a farce, ‘Noises Off’
Farce: A highly comedic dramatic work marked by broad satire and improbable situations.
The Tony Award-winning “Noises Off,” now on our stage at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina until Feb. 28 — and approaching its 40th year of production — is considered the most hysterically funny and favorite farce of all time.
Much of what makes our production, written by Michael Frayn, so loved, for so long, is that the comedy is not only a farce. It is a witty parody, fascinatingly complex, enormously physical, architecturally challenging, and above all, a completely engaging farce within a farce.
When you take in this “play action like clockwork” production, you will understand why I point out these details. Our amazing comedic piece is so astoundingly physical that it borders on the supernatural. There are dashes up the stairs of the two-storied set. Actors not only run up and down the stairs countless times, there are moments when gentlemen ascend the stairs with their trousers around their ankles, or their shoelaces tied together. And once the trousers slide down, they reveal boxers sprinkled with valentine red hearts.
Plates of sardines disappear and reappear. Ditto with telephones and receivers, bottles in various stages between full and empty, and fine and marginal whiskeys. Most fascinating to me: The characters all seem unaware that what they are doing borders on the ridiculous!
The production comes together flawlessly because of the phenomenal contributions of accomplished director Brad DePlanche and actors John Ahlin, Denise Dal Vera, Russell Garrett, Jamie Jones, Jack Lafferty, Christopher McIntyre, Christopher Patrick Mullen, Kaylee Verble and Kayla Ryan Walsh; creative designers Jenny Rider, Charles Kading, Marlo Griffith and Melanie Green; and stage managers Ginger M. James and Kelly L. Genovese, along with the production staff and deck crew.
Act 1: Introductions
During brief comments and announcements from the stage about what is to come on this momentous evening in February, we take in the familiar and sorely missed stage of the Elizabeth Wallace Theater of the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Honestly, I can’t recall the last time I attended a live-stage event there ... or anywhere.
You’ll note that the purposefully scripted uninspired actors of the farce within the farce, “Nothing On,” are set against the details of the living room of a proper English country home, the kind you associate with every British drawing room comedy you’ve ever seen. The appointments in our drawing room seem to be appropriately where they should be, though you may notice a plethora of doors and a particularly oversized window.
The stage, now fully populated by the lagging cast of the unheralded “Nothing On,” is in place: a distracted housekeeper, dealing with disappearing and reappearing sardines and a telephone; a fretful gentleman offering suggestions to anyone who will listen ... oh, and a wife; a loyal and overwhelmed stage manager; a complete extrovert with an ego the size of the house, accompanied by a buxom girlfriend minimally clad in “show me” lingerie, properly vacuous and dim, (but capable, we find later, of meditation on the highest level; and especially, a charming sozzled abuser of alcohol.
Off stage, back at “Nothing On,” we hear the voice of the distracted, disappointed director, desperately focused on positioning his group of lagging performers, hoping that they might be prepared and in place at the dress rehearsal. It is clear to the audience that his production is disappointing, as are the actors, and nothing good will come of these last-gasp efforts to breathe life into this production before opening night.
The storyline continues, and the laughs keep on coming. We hardly have time to catch a breath. Everything flies at us at warp speed. If the the audience is ever quiet, it’s because we are all so anxious that we might miss a gesture or the next purposefully delivered, hilarious line.
Act 2: Sagging Relationships
Act 2 begins with a total staging turnabout.
The earlier drawing room setting has been rotated so that the audience has a more revealing glimpse of the actors from an entirely new vantage point and time frame. If it is possible, Act 2 is even more side-splitting than Act. 1. We laugh until tears stream down our cheeks as we watch the antics of the cast as they relate to one another. The storyline advances, and we begin to understand the actors being actors.
In a kind of no-holds-barred sequence of less than a half-hour, we watch as each offers details of their staged characters and their associated character’s flaws.
Act 3: Raging Conflict
Act 2 kind of morphs into a very brief Act 3, which adds even more delight and enjoyment to the characterizations, as we absorb the well-staged resolution of the storyline, and of the top notch performances in “Noises Off.”
At the conclusion, creative staging allowed time for impressive acknowledgements, applause and appreciations. Everything was balanced with instructions and laughter. Much of our laughter came from the retelling of some of our favorite lines and continued as we left the theater. We could be roundly heard through our muffling masks as we exited by rows, carefully following the COVID guidelines.
“Noises Off” runs through Feb. 28. Call (843) 842-2787 for tickets or visit the Arts Center’s website. The Arts Center is operating under COVID-19 safety requirements, with 50% occupancy, social distancing, temperatures taken at the door, and masks required. The theater is fogged between performances, and Plexiglas barriers are in place at the box office and at the concessions.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 12:59 PM.