Jul 15

Jul 15 Noises Off at SART

There’s a reason the comedy Noises Off has been revived over and over again in the West End of London and on Broadway: It’s hysterically funny, an evening of gradually escalating madness in the theater and about the theater. If you’ve never seen it onstage, get yourself to the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre in Mars Hill for its terrific production, running only through July 20.

The show depicts the rehearsal and subsequent performances of a fictional British sex comedy called Nothing On, destined for a tour of local theaters around the U.K. — and it’s clear from the get-go, when Dotty Otley (Christy Montesdeoca) can’t remember just where her plate of sardines belongs, that it’s going to be a disaster. And what an elaborate and entertaining debacle it is! If you’re not familiar with the show’s creative staging for its three rapid-fire acts, I won’t spoil it here, except to say that the phrase “noises off” is theaterspeak for “sounds coming from off-stage,” and the backstage drama during Nothing On turns out to be far crazier and funnier than the silly play-within-the-play.

Noises Off has its share of pratfalls and slamming doors, but it’s actually a complicated concoction in which everything has to go exactly right to make it seem like everything is going horribly wrong. Under the capable direction of Jeff Catanese, this production all comes together like clockwork — rather, like a carefully choreographed clock explosion — to keep things stumbling forward hilariously.

The roles are all perfectly cast, led by Montesdeoca’s unpredictably dotty Dotty, who’s a joy from start to finish. Jon Stockdale is blithely unflappable as the despairing director, Lloyd, and Cody Eugene is endlessly funny as his much-put-upon stage manager, Tim. Rounding out the fictional stage cast are Chandler Peveto as the haughty and unlucky Garry (his inability to finish a sentence is a running gag that builds nicely); Amanda Clifton as the curvy and clueless Brooke (drily delivering the sexy part of the sex farce); Daniel Henry as the overthinking Frederick (his exchanges with Lloyd are a hoot); Shelley Nielsen as the determined Belinda (who has several spot-on eye-roll moments); and the always-amusing Daniel Sandoval as alcoholic agent of chaos Selsdon. As assistant stage manager Poppy, who struggles to keep up with the calamity, Mikhale Sherrill is often frazzled and always sympathetic. One hopes the respective real-life stage manager and assistant stage manager on this show, Cary Nichols and Claire Daniel, are better treated than Tim and Poppy. They are certainly better at their jobs.

Kudos also to the team responsible for the door-and-stairstep-filled set, which is nearly a character in its own right. To best appreciate the accomplishment of production engineer Carew Henry, lead carpenter Elijah York, their capable carpenter crew, and the stagehands on duty for each performance, we recommend leaving the auditorium during the first intermission, to be surprised by the Act 2 set, then sticking around for the second intermission to see how it’s accomplished.

During that first intermission, or after the show, be sure to check out the Playbill-within-a-Playbill for Nothing On. It’s as entertaining as the play itself and provides hints about the second act of the fictional play, which we never see.