Steppenwolf Theatre Company is currently presenting Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, directed by Anna D. Shapiro, a co-production with L.A.’s Geffen Playhouse, in their Downstairs Theater at 1650 W. Halsted, Chicago, extended through November 3, 2024. Featuring ensemble members Francis Guinan, Audrey Francis, James Vincent Meredith and Ora Jones, with Andrew Leeds, Max Stewart, Rick Holmes,Amanda Fink and Vaneh Assourian, it’s a cunning, adroitly staged romp through British broad farce, with an enormous complement of physical comedy.
Three plays within a play, like Russian nesting dolls, Noises Off spoofs the very genre of live theater. We are watching the first night, mid-run and last show of a 3rd rate ensemble piece portraying a crummy cast- but performed by one of the best companies in the business. It’s not always possible to tell which actor is acting, which actress is playing herself, which character is a character. The stage does a 360 degree turn in the second act, showing us the set from behind, sandwiched between two acts with the stage stage-front.
While the action is shown in surround sound, it devolves into mishap: missed lines, crumbling props, lost costume pieces. The audience on Halsted becomes conflated with the imaginary audience as we must assess just who is conning whom, who is sleeping with whom, who is drinking the whiskey, who are the flowers meant for, why do the men have their pants down, and what is under the sheets? Similarly, we wonder just what is in the boxes and travel bag, whether Inland Revenue is on the hunt, why the windowpanes break, where the telephone cord has gone, and how many plates of sardines there are.
None of those questions are significant, and the answers aren’t important either, because THE PLAY’S THE THING. What theatergoers used to the dark subtleties of Steppenwolfian drama may not appreciate is that what is being portrayed here is theatrical brilliance under the guise of theatrical bumbling. While this may not be of the dark oddball oeuvre we’ve come to associate with this company, it demonstrates once again that nothing is out of their wheelhouse. They can be Cockney or plum-voiced, be toff or servant, toss off words like “loo” and “lavatory” with insouciance while slamming the doors of the bathroom, scramble in their underwear or traipse on tippytoes in high heels and pillbox hat.
The point here is you can’t take your eyes off these actors; as the inept inner set merges with the oh-so-talented outer company, you are swept into gales of laughter. The mere appearance of storied actor Francis Guinan repeatedly breaking through doorpanes again and again is enough to provoke gales of giggles. Likewise, Audrey Francis’ mincing, posing faux upper-class wife was a triumph of mannered pretension. And Andrew Leeds had the funniest headbobs ever, while his pratfalls were works of bodily courage-and of genius. Amanda Fink was the dearest dumb dollygirl, and Ora Jones unbeatable as the clueless cueless maid.
What might be missed by those looking for a political message, an inside joke, a point of view, or an intellectual awakening, is that this play- and this production of this play- is not simply good clean fun. It’s a rare explication of brilliant stagecraft, split-second timing, and flawless directing. Kudos to the production team including Todd Rosenthal, scenic designer, for a complex yet oh-so-workable set; Izumi Inaba, costume designer, for side-splitting attire and colorful shoes that are themselves statement pieces; Kate DeVore, dialect and voice coach, for believable Brits; and R&D Choreography, for violence design that gave us harmless spectacular falls and axes.
All photos by Michael Brosilow
For information and tickets, go to www.Steppenwolf.org
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