Most of the cast of "Noises Off" at Venice Theatre. From left, Matt McClure, Heather Forte, Allan Kollar, Nicole Cunningham, Alison Prouty, Jeremy Guerrero and Allan Kollar. RENEE MCVETY PHOTO/PROVIDED BY VENICE THEATRE
It’s inevitable that the more times you see a comedy, the less likely it is that you’re going to laugh because there are fewer surprises.
I laughed a lot when I first saw Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off” in Washington, D.C., in 1983 on its way to Broadway and I have mostly enjoyed it many times since then. Perhaps, too many times to fully appreciate the production that James Alexander Bond has staged for Venice Theatre.
It’s probably fine for newcomers to this spoof of British sex farces, but Bond allows his cast to be too broad and not specific enough to really hit moments that should be funny every time.
The play is about a ragtag group of actors preparing for a tour of the English provinces with a terrible play called “Nothing On.” We first watch their dreadful, much-interrupted final dress rehearsal, and then see how the show falls apart over the next few months as infighting and fatigue take over.
Allan Kollar gets to act with his son, Charles, for the first time in "Noises Off" at Venice Theatre. Allan plays a director and his son plays a stagehand in the Michael Frayn comedy. RENEE MCVETY PHOTO/PROVIDED BY VENICE THEATRE
I actually chuckled quite a bit during the usually hilarious second act, which is set backstage and features a lengthy, choreographed pantomime with the actors trying to save a performance that is going horribly wrong while keeping a drunken cast member from getting access to a bottle of whiskey.
The scene, and the play itself, is funniest when everything the actors do is clear, which is why Allan Kollar is so successful playing director Lloyd Dallas, who tries to hold himself together as the play collapses before him. He tries to remain calm and infuses his demands with “dear” to his actors, but you can hear the exasperation in his voice. When he shows up during that backstage ballet to figure out what’s going wrong, there’s never a question about what he means when he’s mouthing words or pointing at someone. That’s not the case with the rest of the cast, who gesture broadly with no real clarity of the meaning.
Matt McClure, left, and Cheryl Andrews play battling actors and one-time lovers in Michael Frayn's "Noises Off" at Venice Theatre. RENEE MCVETY PHOTO/PROVIDED BY VENICE THEATRE
Yet they all have at least a moment or two that generate laughs, including Matt McClure trying to remain steady amidst the bedlam. He’s paired with Heather Forte as a dim-witted office worker, who is at her best barreling on as if nothing is wrong, even though everything is. (Forte also played the same role 15 years ago at Venice Theatre.)
I hesitate to suggest that Cheryl Andrews could be a bit broader as Dottie Otley, who plays the housekeeper juggling missing plates of sardines. Jeremy Guerrero and Alison Prouty are fine as the homeowners who return unexpectedly, triggering her natural survival instincts and his chronic nosebleeds. Neil Kasanofsky plays the aging actor Selsdon as more forgetful than drunk but does it all with a sense of fun. Nicole Cunningham as the meek stage manager Poppy and Charles Kollar as the overworked stagehand Tim have the right sense of timing.
The play is staged on a fine and sturdy two-story set by Tim Wisgerhof that smoothly revolves to give us a view of backstage in the second act, and Chelsea Sorensen’s costumes have the right touch of tacky to them.
Though I hoped for a bit more, it’s a still a testament to Bond and his cast that they had me laughing (or at least chuckling) as much as they did.
THEATER REVIEW
“NOISES OFF”
By Michael Frayn. Directed by James Alexander Bond. Reviewed Jan. 12, Venice Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. Tickets are $29, $15 for college students and $13 for children. Through Jan. 31. 941-488-1115; venicestage.com
