Noises Off At
the Theatre at the Center By Dan Zeff MUNSTER, Indiana—“Noises
Off” is the funniest farce in England-language theater. “Charley’s Aunt” may
give it some competition, but for intricacy of structure and laugh-out-loud
hilarity the Michael Frayn masterpiece takes first place. “Noises Off,” like all farces, is fiendishly difficult to do
well. It requires an ensemble of talented comedians and a razor sharp director
to achieve the split second timing and comic credibility that the play demands.
The best production of the show I’ve ever seen was in London shortly after it
opened in 1982. I’ve seen a number of later attempts, all well meaning but all
a beat off. The results were evenings of
mild amusement that didn’t begin to tap the glorious comic riches of the play. The Theatre at the Center is reviving “Noises Off” and it
takes its place as the second best staging I’ve attended. Nothing likely will
ever top the joys of the London original, but under director Bill Pullinsi’s
directing the Theatre at the Center taps most of the show’s humor potential.
“Noises Off” is a great comedy and it’s also one of the best
plays about the theater in the modern dramatic canon. The script follows a hapless company of
English actors as they stage a silly sex comedy called “Nothing On” in three
different provincial theaters over a period of several months, The first act portrays a rehearsal of the play, introducing
us to the characters as they stagger through the final run through before the
show opens. The second act takes place backstage during a performance. Most of
the dialogue is from “Nothing On” but the action comes from the performers
miming various levels of anguish and anger as they await their entrances. Two
of the actors are in the midst of a jealous fight. One of the actresses suffers
from “nervous exhaustion.” The meek assistant stage manager announces she’s
pregnant by the play’s director. It’s an Armageddon. The third act is the final performance of the play before the
tour ends. The show takes place as the actual audience would see it, but by
this time chaos has enveloped the cast. Props develop a life of their own,
lines are blown, entrances and exits scrambled, and hostilities among the
characters reach the boiling point. “Noises Off” follows all the sanctified traditions of farce.
The story is rife with misunderstandings as characters miss embarrassing
encounters by split seconds amid the slamming of countless doors while the
story escalates into total insanity. A
couple of characters even drop their pants. For extra credit, Frayn adds a
layer of droll wit to a genre not usually noted for clever language. The Theatre at the Center revival is particularly strong in
its female components. Marilyn Bogetich is a joy as the housekeeper in “Nothing
On” as played by ageing actress Dotty Otley, ending her career in thespian
disarray. Laura E. Taylor is a hoot as
the ditsy blonde who keeps losing a contact lens. Laura Leonardo Ownby is an
oasis of calm within the maelstrom around her as actress Belinda Blair. And
Anna Hammonds has some golden moments as the long suffering assistant stage
manager trying to hold the show together
technically in the midst of dealing with unexpected future motherhood. The male components of the play are charged with providing
most of the dithering and frantic physical action. Dale Benson impersonates a doddering old
alcoholic ending his acting career playing an improbable burglar in “Nothing
On.” Benson has feasted on this kind of role for decades in Chicagoland theater
and he’s a riot. I also liked Will Clinger as the sarcastic and increasingly
desperate director of the play. Jeff Cummings expends a huge amount of energy as Gary
Lejeune, who does an over-the-top John Cleese impersonation as a jealous lover.
Clay Sanderson is appropriately dim as the focal point of Lejeune’s ire. Jason
Wroblewski rounds out the cast as the stagehand drafted into the acting company
when other actors start disappearing at performance time. Lee Brasuell designed the effective multi-door two level set.
Brenda Winstead designed the costumes, Denise Karczewski the lighting, and Matt
Meher the sound. Playgoers who have never seen “Noises Off” should catch the
Center show and expose themselves to a priceless slice of comic heaven. Patrons
who’ve suffered through inadequate previous revivals can finally enjoy the show
near its comic potential. “Noises Off” runs through March 21 at the Theatre at the
Center, 1040 Ridge Road. Performances are Wednesday at 2 p.m., Thursday at 2
and 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at
2:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $40. Call 219 836 3255 or visit www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com. The show gets a rating of 3½ stars. February 2010
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Crazy for You
At the Theatre at the Center
By Dan Zeff
MUNSTER, Indiana—Musical comedies of the first four decades of the twentieth century had great music and great stars. But the stories were so lame that audiences of the post “Oklahoma!” generation would find the hits of the 1920’s and 1930’s unwatchable.
So Broadway producers had a brainstorm. Take songs by the
Hall of Fame composers of the early twentieth century and put them on stage
nestled within a new, workable book. No composer was more deserving of this
type of reclamation project than George Gershwin, who provided the music for
two reconstituted musicals on Broadway, “My One and Only” in 1983 and “Crazy
for You” in 1992.
Needless to say, liberties were taken with both shows. The books were completely replaced and songs were borrowed from other Gershwin musicals plus songs from Gershwin movies. The results were delightful, partly thanks to exceptionally creative work by the directors and choreographers. But it was the Gershwin music that lit up both shows.
The Theatre at the Center is reviving “Crazy for You” in a highly serviceable production directed by William Pullinsi, a master hand at staging classic musicals in the Chicagoland area for a generation.
There is a certain comfort in watching “Crazy for You.” The show definitely does not challenge the audience’s intellect or churn their minds with controversy. The book by Ken Ludwig is agreeably silly and the humor is corny to the max, though occasionally there is a spark of tart satirical wit in the dialogue.
But it’s the music that lifts the evening. There have been numerous hit musicals in the last decade that visited Chicago, but how many of them sent the spectators out into the night humming a number from the score? Excluding “Jersey Boys,” with its pre packaged Frankie Valli hits, the answer likely will be zero. Now consider “Crazy for You,” which offers “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Embraceable You,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” “But Not for Me,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and the Olympian “I’ve Got Rhythm.”
Ludwig’s book places the action mostly in the dusty town of Deadrock, Nevada, during the 1930’s. Bobby Childs has been sent by his gorgon but wealthy mother from New York City to Deadrock to foreclose on Deadrock’s only theater. Bobby has been stage struck all his adult life and he instantly falls in love with Polly Baker, who owns the Deadrock theater with her father. The plot provides a load of ludicrous misunderstandings until Bobby saves the theater by, what else, putting on a show. Bobby and Polly lead the parade of the characters paired off romantically by the final number.
We don’t get much tap dancing in musicals today, so the tapping throughout this revival should bring joy to fans of the genre. The Center production offers a sextet of excellent female hoofers who click their way pleasurably through one tap number after another, climaxed naturally by “I Got Rhythm.”
Center choreographer Linda Fortunato follows the spirit of the Susan Stroman dances in the Broadway production, which means a high level of visual invention, like turning the six chorus girls into string basses in the “Slap That Bass” number.
Richard Strimer plays Bobby Child with a nice wide-eyed charm. He sings acceptably and dances with distinction. Amy Brophy sings the role of Polly with a strong upper register voice. There isn’t much she can do with the predictable two-dimensional character acting wise. The best all-round performance of the show comes from Lauren Creel as Bobby’s initial love interest. Creel is a first-rate singer and dancer and puts a delicious bite into her cynical dialogue. And Larry Adams does a solid comic turn as the ego-inflated impresario Bela Zengler.
A separate paragraph of commendation goes to those six ladies of the chorus and their high stepping dancing—Amber Mak, Carrie Stedman, Cassandra Liveris, Megan Simmons, Nicole Miller, and Cara Salerno.
Given the technical limitations of the theater, the production must get along with rudimentary set pieces and props changed on stage during blackouts. Bill Bartelt makes a virtue of necessity with some drolly cheesy facades. Brenda Winstead’s costumes give the show an appropriately 1930’s look. Denise Karczewski designed the lighting and Barry Funderburg the sound. William Underwood directs the effective off stage small orchestra.
“Crazy for You” runs through June 14 at the Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Road. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 2 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. with some additional performances on Thursdays and Saturdays. Tickets are $36 and $40. Call 219 836 3255 or visit www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.
The show gets a rating of three stars. May 2009
Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com .