Noises Off!

Rizzo invited me to join him to see a friend in the Shelton Theater's production of Noises Off! I had never seen it live (only the video) and had been eager to see it for years. Although it is rarely produced as the set is so direct an inflexible (i'm told set designers hate making it as it leaves no room for creativity). the set is two stories, eight doors, and reversible. I would have thought an impossible task for the tiny tiny Shelton stage.

Sure, the set was cramped and half of the doors were slightly miniature, but they totally pull it off. In no small part to the wonderful cast. So. Much. Fun. The farce elicited strong laughs all the way through, made even more enjoyable by the hysterics Rizzo was thrown into from the opening scene. The second act goes completely off the rails and the cast manages the chaos and teensy tiny stage with great comic skill.

Rodney Taylor is delightful as the exasperated director, and Erica Andracchio does a splendid comic turn particularly with the second act, encapsulating the entire nonsense into a single look amid the cacophony. Richard Sargent suffers beautifully throughout, and Travis Coleman is so believably hapless I wonder if that's him in his daily life. Also, is auburn fur looks good in briefs. Tony Ruiz does a good job with the handsome-but-stupid, and is underutilized in so far as he has his shirt and pants on the entire time.


Noises Off! has been extended through February 8, and I recommend going. Check Goldstar or Brown Paper Tickets for tickets.