Noises Off

The curtain rises on the maid, a squat and snarly Patti LuPone has lost her plate of sardines and whatever lines she was supposed to say. "It’s all about doors and sardines" the director’s voice rips through the audience.

In Michael Frayn’s NOISES OFF, slamming doors, swinging set pieces, pratfalls and pitfalls are the calamities that arrive roller coaster-like. The play, about an artless theatrical troop touring in a typical British sex farce, is the season’s laugh riot. It’s a comedy about putting on a comedy in which the actors fade out into their own "real life" dilemmas, dalliances and infidelities. While the play itself means absolutely nothing, it offers a hilarious expose on human foibles.

At last, one does not need to look back to Moliere to appreciate the technically exquisite execution of a farce. In Michael Frayn’s tangled web of deceits and stage antics, characterizations come to life in a brilliantly woven fabric. We move from dress rehearsal to back stage where "the great drama of the dressing room" is exposed, only to return again in Act III to the drawing room where the tired troop misfires at every shot. Still, the show must go on.

And this extraordinary ensemble brilliantly brought together by Jeremy Sams’ savvy direction achieves just that. In addition to Ms. LuPone, Peter Gallagher acts the god-like director draped in black leather. Faith Prince portrays a smooth albeit nasty actress. And Katie Finneran delivers an astonishing performance as a cross-eyed bimbo in search of her contact lens. She’s worth bumping into as is this revival, a timely and well-timed evening of frivolous pleasure.

That’s This Week on Broadway. I’m Isa Goldberg.