The Geffen Playhouse production of Michael Frayn's Noises Off officially opens in the Los Angeles,
California company's Gil Cates Theater February 6 following previews that began January 29.
Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County, The Motherf**ker with the Hat) directs the co-production with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where the farce was seen last year with much of the same company. Performances were recently extended through March 16.
READ: Anna D. Shapiro Has Wanted to Direct Noises Off for Years
The cast includes Vaneh Assadourian (Wish You Were Here) as Poppy Norton-Taylor, Amanda Fink (I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard) as Brooke Ashton/Vicki, Audrey Francis (Justified: City Primeval) as Belinda Blair/Flavia Brent, Francis Guinan (August: Osage County) as Selsdon Mowbray/Burglar, Rick Holmes (Matilda the Musical) as Lloyd Dallas, Ora Jones (Matilda the Musical) as Dotty Otley/Mrs. Clackett, David Lind (New Country) as Garry Lejeune/Roger Tramplemain, James Vincent Meredith (The Crucible) as Frederick Fellowes/Phillip Brent, and Max Stewart (Fairview) as Tim Allgood.
Understudies Beth Hawkes, Al'Jaleel McGhee, Anna Mintzer, Felice Heather Monteith, Jeremy Radin, and Ricki Romano complete the company.
In Frayn's comic conceit, the audience follows the misfortunes of a fifth-rate British troupe as it rehearses (Act One), performs (Act Two), and destroys (Act Three) a British sex farce called Nothing On. The points of view change during Noises Off, offering a front of-house rehearsal, a backstage perspective during a performance, and another view from the house, several months into the run.
The production also has scenic design by Todd Rosenthal,
costume design by Izumi Inaba, lighting design by Josh Epstein, sound
design by Cricket S. Myers, associate direction by Nikki DiLoreto,
dialect and voice coaching by Kate DeVore, violence designed by R&D
Choreography, intimacy consulting by Kristina Fluty, production stage
management by Sam Allen, assistant stage management by Colleen Danaher,
and casting by JC Clementz and Phyllis Schuringa.
Noises Off opened in London in 1982 before arriving at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre in December 1983 and playing 553 performances. A feature film was made of Noises Off in 1992. The comedy has been revived twice on Broadway, in 2001 and, most recently, in 2016.
Frayn won the 2000 Tony Award for his play Copenhagen.
Visit GeffenPlayhouse.org.
