Tony Award-winner Andrea Martin (Pippin, Young Frankenstein) makes her Roundabout Theatre Company debut in a rip-roaring new production of Michael Frayn's (Copenhagen) beloved comedy Noises Off!
The Opening Night performance of the farce Nothing On is just hours away, and as the cast stumbles through their final dress rehearsal, things couldn't be going any worse. With lines being forgotten, love triangles unraveling and sardines flying everywhere, it's complete pandemonium- and we haven't even reached intermission! Can the cast pull their act together on the stage even if they can't behind the scenes?
Full of shocking surprises and gut-busting humor, Noises Off is the classic show-within-a-show that "voyages to the outer limits of hilarity" (The New York Times). Two-time Olivier Award nominee Jeremy Herrin (This House) directs.
Michael Frayn's farce about putting on a stage farce is breathlessly clever and funny, a staple of the contemporary theater repertoire. How can it be made even funnier? The Roundabout Theatre Company somehow has found a way, armed with inspired casting...All add little touches to their parts, like Hilty mouthing everyone's lines and slithering down some stairs. Martin, we always knew, can make just holding a plate of sardines hysterical, and here she's in her element. Shamos...shows his physical comedy chops here, prat-falling and slipping on a slick stage over and over like a character from Sunday morning cartoons. McClure's manic, unhinged energy is perfect and his ferocious shaking when he's forced onstage as a replacement is stunning. Furr is a true revelation: Just listening to him bluster or watching him frantically rush around can make your ribs hurt...Everyone onstage has to believe that the risks are real, and this new ensemble never mugs or winks, despite the silliness. They are utterly, terribly good at being bad, which is meant as a supreme compliment.
Today's report -- and it's a happy one -- is that this Noises Off is splendidly delirious fun. Director Jeremy Herrin...turns up with a perfectly-calibrated production which brings full value to Frayn's text while adding layers of visual humor that leaves audiences hooting with delight. The Roundabout...has in this case been content to restrict itself to talented stage actors who have heretofore displayed comic flair. This works out capitally well, and results in one of the finest Roundabout outings since Twelve Angry Men...Martin, naturally, leads the cast; as always, she need merely lift her eyebrow to garner laughs...Megan Hilty...plays Brooke, the vapid actress who continually loses her dress and her contact lens. This has always been a show-stopping role...and Hilty succeeds handily, comporting herself like a perpetually posing beauty queen-turned-game show hostess trying to get us to choose the prize behind Curtain #3.
1983 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2001 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2015 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Production Broadway |
2019 | West End |
West End Production West End |
2023 | West End |
West End |
2023 | West End |
West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Jeremy Herrin |
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Megan Hilty |
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Noises Off |
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Christopher Cronin |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | David Furr |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Megan Hilty |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Megan Hilty |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Michael Frayn |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Michael Krass |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | David Furr |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Megan Hilty |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Andrea Martin |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Noises Off |
Videos