Noises Off

Play (1982)
by Michael Frayn
Directed by Ilyse Robbins
Lyric Stage of Boston
Copley Square area
November 15 – December 22, 2024

Scenic Design: Erik D. Diaz; Costume Design: Seth Bodie; Lighting Design: SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal; Sound Design: Andrew Duncan Will; Props Artisan: Emily Allinson; Production Stage Manager: Shauwna Dias Grillo; Assistant Stage Manager: Hazel J. Peters

With Amy Barker (Dotty Otley), Grace Experience (Brooke Ashton), Dan Garcia (Tim Allgood), Eliza Fichter (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Michael Jennings Mahoney (Frederick Fellows), Joseph Marrella (Garry Lejeune), Chip Phillips (Selsdon Mowbray), Samantha Richert (Belinda Blair), Lewis D. Wheeler (Lloyd Dallas)

A production of the fictional play Nothing On is in rehearsal and in Act I we see the director, Lloyd Dallas (Lewis D. Wheeler) desperately trying to pull things into shape before showtime. We get a view of all that could go wrong, depending on misaligned relationships in the cast, some degree of ineptitude, and varying effects of chaos, on the goings-on. In Act II, we see the production from backstage and get a true sense of the madness that is happening behind the scenes.

This now classic farce is considered one of the most difficult plays to produce and stage-manage since it has so many gags and requires so many things to be perfectly wrong in order to do their thing. Ilyse Robbins’ effort at the Lyric appears to answer this bill and reproduces the abundance of expected and necessary silliness in the show to produce a good response.

For some reason – either mood, the current political climate, or the weather – kept me from joining in the frivolity. I have seen and admire Robbins’ work and have seen this play before and found it quite amusing. Yet, for perhaps the above noted reasons I found myself not at all cracking a smile during this production. That being said, I sat directly in front of a woman who, as a captive of humor, was constantly gasping for breath throughout, so it was not the fault of the production itself apparently. And, after I mentioned to a friend that I hadn’t particularly been aroused with amusement, she went to see the show and found it ecstatically stimulating and hilarious. So, go figure.

After the show, I went to watch the 1992 film of Noises Off starring Carol Burnett, Michael Caine and Denholm Elliot, and, again, for whatever reason – humidity, the ascent of authoritarianism, or the movement of the stars – I didn’t get uproariously amused. All of those actors are certainly worth their weight in hilarity but apart from a wry smile or two, it did not really hit home. Noises Off has, for a long while, represented to me a kind of brilliant x-ray of the theater from both sides. I saw a student production some years ago and thought it brilliant, so I’m not sure what happened to my appreciative exuberance since that time. I love Michael Frayn’s work in general, so perhaps the sector of my amusement market was bottoming and I just could not move the dial to significant appreciation this time.

All the actors in this production do a seemingly fine job and I found their presences appealing, but oddly, as I note above, none of that resulted in a sense of mirth. I’m indeed glad some people found it hilarious.

– BADMan (aka Charles Munitz)