Westwood’s esteemed Geffen Playhouse and Chicago’s illustrious Steppenwolf Theatre Company join creative forces to give L.A. audiences a fabulously entertaining revival of what may well be the most inventive and uproarious farce ever written, Michael Frayn’s Noises Off.

 Imagine the most well-meaning but inept group of actors ever to “grace” an English stage. Imagine the mishaps of the under-rehearsed troupe at their final dress rehearsal. Imagine the backstage chaos when romantic liaisons between cast members have gone haywire. Imagine the utter disaster of their closing performance after two months of disastrous touring.

Imagine all this and what you’ve got is a masterful juxtapositioning of slammed doors, double entendres, and physical comedy shtick in a play that both epitomizes farce and redefines the genre with its triple-scenario format.

Characters don’t get more outlandish than:

 Dotty Otley (Ora Jones), the regional theater staple who heads the cast of “Nothing’s On,” an actress of a certain age who can’t even begin to master the multiple bits of stage business required of her.

Garry Lejeune (David Lind), the play-within-a-play’s romantic protagonist growing increasingly suspicious of paramour Dotty’s relationship with a rival castmate.

 Frederick Fellowes (James Vincent Meredith), a method actor all too susceptible to nosebleeds and dropped drawers, and incapable even of moving a box from here to there without examining his “motivation.”

Belinda Blair (Audrey Francis), arguably the sanest member of the company (that is if any of them can be considered completely sane), who may harbor a secret crush on Freddie.

 Brooke Ashton (Amanda Fink), a blonde bombshell with the IQ of a pigeon and difficulty keeping her contact lenses from popping out.

Selsdon Mowbray (Francis Guinan), a grizzled stage vet whose morning “coffee” gets served from flasks kept hidden in just about every nook and cranny he can find.

Poppy Norton-Taylor (UCLA grad Vaneh Assadourian, performing across the street from her alma mater), the troupe’s overly emotional assistant stage manager who doubles as understudy to both its resident bimbo and its resident alcoholic.

 Tim Algood (Max Stewart), who’s not only the troupe’s harried stage manager but understudies both Selsdon and Freddy while serving as all-around gofer and goof-up.

And last but not least, Lloyd Dallas (Rick Holmes), the play-within-a-play’s temperamental director, increasingly at the end of his rope as his cast of misfits find new ways to screw up.

As both Noises Off and “Nothing’s On” continue on their accident-prone course, expect to see actors draped with sheets, Brooke stripped down to her skivvies, and Frederick with his pants dropped round his ankles.

Expect too to witness cues missed, entrances mistimed, and sardines spilled here, there and everywhere, and under Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro’s truly inspired direction, you can rest assured that Noises Off will have you laughing so hard it hurts.

The regional theater actors starring in Noises Off’s play-within-a-play may not be the most gifted bunch, composed as they are with has-beens, never-weres, and unlikely-to-ever-bes, but the same cannot be said for the Chicago-meets-L.A. hybrid cast now dazzling audiences at the Geffen, which is why no matter how many times you’ve seen Noises Off on stage (I’ve seen seven productions in all since its original Broadway cast reprised their roles at the Ahmanson in 1985), you’ll find something uniquely original about each one of the nine Geffen-meets-Steppenwolf cast member’s hysterical star turns, and never more so than when assorted “Nothing’s On” actors reveal their own backstage warm-up techniques, each more ridiculous than the next.

 Add to this a crème-de-la-crème production design team made up of L.A. and Chicago’s best (scenic designer Todd Rosenthal, costume designer Izumi Imaba, lighting designer Josh Epstein, and sound designer Cricket S. Myers) and there’s even more to rave about.

Last but not least, R&D Choreography’s “violence design” guarantees even more laughs whenever characters execute comedic pratfalls or attack their fellow thespians to hilarious effect.

 Casting is by JC Clementz, CSA and Phyllis Schuringa, CSA. Beth Hawkes, Al’Jaleel McGhee, Anna Mintzer, Felice Heather Monteith, Jeremy Radin, and Ricki Romano are understudies.

Nikki DeLoreto is assistant director. Katie DeVore is dialect and voice coach. Kristina Fluty is intimacy coordinator.

Sam Allen is production stage manager and Colleen Danaher is assistant stage manager.

It takes a world-class troupe of actors to convince audiences that their fictional onstage counterparts have no idea what they’re doing. With Noises Off sure to pack them in at the Geffen, being deliberately bad has never been so side-splittingly good!

Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. Through November 5. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 8:00, Saturdays at 3:00 and 8:00. Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00.
www.geffenplayhouse.com

–Steven Stanley
February 7, 2025
Photos: Jeff Lorch

Tags: Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles Theater Review, Michael Frayn, Steppenwolf Theatre Company