It's been quite a few years since I first saw the play Noises Off! at Marshall's theatre, and ever since it's been one of my all-time favorite stage comedies.
So I'm very happy to see that 5th Avenue Theatre is staging the show at Huntington's City Hall - it starts this weekend! It's a very funny show with a terrific cast - I give it my highest recommendation!
To give you some background on the show and the actors involved, we have some e-interviews to share, starting with one of the stars of the show, Mike Murdock:
Q: Tell us about the character you play.
Mike: I play Lloyd Dallas, the director of the play within the play, "Nothing's On!" As the show goes on and everything goes from bad to worse, Lloyd begins to fall apart, along with everyone else. He is romantically involved with two different women: Brooke, one of the actresses in the show, and Poppy, the stage manager. He's sarcastic, tired and trying to direct Hamlet in New York at the same time as directing "Nothing's On!" As you can imagine, things go horribly, horribly wrong.
Q: Why did you want to be part of Noises Off?
Mike: It's quite simply one of the funniest plays ever written. I've wanted to do this show for a very long time, and I'm very excited to finally get to sink my teeth into it. It's a farce, and I love farce. Quick entrances and exits, fast dialogue and laugh-out-loud belly laughs. It's the whole package. I love it.
Q: What's the most challenging thing about this show?
Mike: Timing is everything. The show is fast-paced and requires a lot from you as an actor. This cast is amazing, and have done a fantastic job bringing the show to life. It will be one of the best community theatre productions you'll see in a very long time.
Q: The show is very funny, very precise and moves very fast in places. Was it a difficult show to learn?
Mike: It was FAR more difficult than I ever imagined, and for various reasons. We basically see the show-within-a-show three times. Once in rehearsal, once during the middle of the run and once at the end of the run. But so many different things happen during each run, you can't rest on your laurels and presume that once you know the first version that you know the other two. There are so many jokes and things that change when the show starts to fall apart, that remembering when and where things happen gets harder and harder. So, in short, YES. But totally worth it.
Q: Why would you recommend this show to our readers?
Mike: Again, it's one of the funniest shows ever written, and especially for anyone that has ever had anything to do with theatre, it's a non-stop laugh riot. I'm not exaggerating. ACT 2, especially, when we show what is happening backstage, and we can't speak because the show is going on, and it's all done in pantomime, is side-splitting. I liken it to The Simpsons in its prime, because there are so many jokes happening all at once, and it's such a giant freight train of funny, you're going to miss some. It's worth it to come again a second night, just to catch things you missed, because we can't hold for laughs in that act. We just have to steamroll through it. It's amazing.
Stephanie has done an amazing job directing this very complicated show, and her set design, brought to fruition through the incredible Jerry Morse, is a sight to see. Not only that, but our whole set revolves, which, to my knowledge, has never been done in the City Hall Auditorium. And it does it TWICE! So not only is the set beautiful, but it's also a major character in the production. When people aren't laughing, they're going to be impressed. I can't wait to get an audience to experience it with us. Gauntlet thrown.
Q: Tell us the dates, times and place for the show.
Mike: It's at the Huntington City Hall auditorium on September 9, 10, 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. and September 11 and 18 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children. Call 304-696-5522 for tickets! Get them now so you can be in on the conversation about the show everyone will be talking about!
Thanks Mike! Tomorrow, we'll hear from a completely different Mike!
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