Michael Frayn's Tony-winning play Copenhagen, which concentrated on the meeting of two scholars commiserating over atomic theory, left me colder than a blizzard breeze in Niagara Falls in January. Many adored this brainy, ultra-serious account of science versus intellect, but I likened it to a lecture by a brilliant professor who knew little of the ways of the human heart. The show was a surprise hit, though I suspect many patrons went along with it while secretly wishing they were having more fun elsewhere. Frayn's classic farce Noises Off, could have been the very thing dancing around in their heads. A dazzlingly structured backstage comedy chronicling a tour companyÆs disastrous mounting of a silly door-slammer, the play is every bit as studied as Copenhagen, but in a comedy, it seems much more essential. Unlike the horrible By Jeeves, which putters along at a snail's pace when you're just begging it will cut loose, this play is like a bedspring just waiting to pop. And when it does, it's a thrilling ride.
The production within the production, called "Nothing On," is directed by Lloyd Dallas (Peter Gallagher in a rare and welcome comic role), a semi-smarmy womanizer carrying on affairs with his current ingenue Brooke Ashton (Katie Finneran) and his trusty assistant stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor (Robin Weigert), and massaging the egos of his diva-like star Dotty Otley (Patti LuPone, perfectly cast), prone-to-fainting Frederick Fellowes (Edward Hibbert), the dutiful, motherly Belinda Blair (Faith Prince), temperamental Garry Lejeune (Thomas McCarthy), and relentless boozer Selsdon Mowbray (recent Tony winner Richard Easton). Also along for the ride is Tim Allgood (T.R. Knight), the young, hapless stage manager, who through the course of the evening will double as just about everything else.
Frayn's play takes place over three acts, at different intervals in the show's run, to show "Nothing On" at various points in the run. The first is a dress rehearsal, which serves as the audience's background in the play and the performers, the second (most deliciously) showing the backstage antics as the show is being performed at a matinee, and finally, in a concluding performance, where the cast and crew muddle through an impromptu version when all hell breaks loose, often literally.
Noises Off does take its time to get its claws into you, maybe a little too much time. The first act is fitfully funny, setting up the various states of pre-opening panic, and some of the intended laughs don't come off strongly. But stick with it and you'll realize how subtly Frayn is changing gears and how essential some of that exposition is. Act Two is a veritable explosion of high comedy, and the cast uniformly transforms Noises Off into a can't-miss laugh machine. The inventive physical comedy of this interval is positively slaying, and those with an appreciation of genuine farce will marvel at how smoothly the abundantly talented players embody it. Even the more mundane bits (like lost contact lenses and pratfalls) register with supreme originality. After this exhausting segment, the final act seems quaint by comparison, but the cast is so assured and skillful, you're basically insured a good time.
Everyone is so good they deserve mention of their own, but I'll highlight a few performers who and turn their roles into something indelible. Richard Easton was sublime as the elder A.E. Housman in Tom Stoppard's glorious The Invention of Love earlier this year, and some of the innate decency that sparked his wonderful performance registers here as well, in a role that doesn't even require it. He makes the antics of his absent minded alcoholic here more than a cliche, and makes the most of the show's most underimagined role. Faith Prince is best known for her musical work (which she excels in), but her appealingly subtle and delightful work here ranks with her best ever. She makes Belinda both nurturing and a little duplicitous, but never less than likable. Her resistance to overplaying is a great, smart move on her part; she becomes even more memorable as a result. But its breakout performer is also the least known. T.R. Knight, in his Broadway debut no less, is remarkable as the put-upon stage manager bullied by nearly all involved. Another role that could have been throwaway, Knight invests it with a Chaplin-esque sense of whimsy, and often steals the show from his more seasoned co stars. Frayn wrote in a new introduction to the audience by Tim to bridge the gap between Acts Two and Three, and it gives Knight the perfect opportunity to strike comic gold.
Judging by the rapturous response of the audience I saw Noises Off with, it looks to be a hit, and there's something very reassuring about that. The play, expertly directed by Jeremy Sams, is blissfully old-fashioned. It means to entertain and be a delectable dessert in an era of fast-food apple pies and synthetic cheesecakes. Who can resist lapping up a big, tasty creme pie -- right in your face.
