From Nashville Scene 03/09/2005:

Backstage Pass
By MARTIN BRADY

Michael Frayn's acclaimed farce explores a theatrical production's behind-the-scenes antics

Michael Frayn's Noises Off has been hailed as a brilliant farce, and the new Tennessee Repertory Theatre production does nothing to dispel that notion. Indeed, Frayn's script is a tight and whimsical amalgam of insider theatrical knowledge and hilarious, quick-clipped dialogue spouted by a madcap cast of characters. The show relies heavily on precision timing, and director René Copeland and the fine cast meet the challenge.

It all takes place on Gary Hoff's impressive set, which faithfully re-creates the set for Nothing On, the farce within the farce, which is being enacted at its final dress rehearsal by a cast of eccentric, contentious British thespians. The actors hardly seem ready for their opening night. They forget to pick up props, miss their cues and then blow their lines, all to the dismay of their director, who steps out of the audience to make the necessary but probably futile corrections. Along the way, we glimpse the beginnings of intra-cast squabbling, which has more to do with personal issues than getting the play launched.

Act 1 is a delightful tease, but it's really the setup for second and third acts, in which Hoff's set rotates around and we're backstage with the actors, privy to their caustic infighting, not to mention their comical struggles to perform, with even minimal efficiency, the dotty door-slamming comedy that has become their b?te noire.

Amidst pratfalls, lost contact lenses, costume snafus, a bloody nose, an inordinate focus on sardines, sexual innuendo, romantic rivalry and a dangerous amount of boozing, the players soldier on, performing the dimwitted play while sniping at each other and undermining entrances and exits. All of this is accomplished at a breathless pace, and only about midway through Act 2 does the action get so furious that we lose some sense of the script. The cast stiffens from there, however, and the players find their rhythm again, evoking consistent chuckles to the final curtain.

Frayn is a fine humorist, and Noises Off ranks with the best works of the great farceurs Moliere and Feydeau. The chaotic scenario becomes so absorbing that his hysterical non sequiturs almost—but don't quite—get lost.

There are surprises among the performances—every actor rises to the occasion, but not necessarily in ways that might be expected. Besides executing a daring fall down a flight of stairs, Matt Chiorini otherwise has to play things relatively straight. He's hugely successful, though, going through all the right motions yet suffering his own amusing frustrations. Jeff Boyet has disappointed in the past in serious roles, yet here he proves to be a smooth and savvy light comedian. The leading ladies are Shelean Newman, who is lively and stylish throughout, and Marin Miller, whose portrayal of a tarty actress in a tarty role is a strangely captivating blend of unpredictable fits and starts and unself-conscious preening. The ineffable Martha Wilkinson hems and haws her way through the riotous proceedings, complaining and limping about with conviction in a pair of pink fuzzy slippers. Joe Keenan, Jenny Littleton, Bobby Wyckoff and Chip Arnold provide excellent support in smaller roles.

The Rep scores a definite success here, and Copeland deserves much of the credit for pulling all the disparate pieces together, attending to the all-important pacing and keeping the laughs in focus.