All About the Sardines in UMD's Hilarious Noises Off
Sheryl Jensen
Duluth News Tribune
November 3, 2017
In Michael Frayn's farce Noises Off, the play within a play is aptly named Nothing On. Lloyd, the hapless director, just wants to get through the play once before they open the next evening. In a rehearsal where nothing goes right, props are lost, and a drunken actor is missing, he searches for some words of wisdom for his mostly clueless cast.
He tells them that all they need to know is "Getting the sardines on, getting the sardines off. That's farce. That's theater. That's life."
Indeed, UMD Theatre's rollicking production is filled with the running gag of countless plates of sardines that are invariably in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The show depicts a company of third rate actors performing in a tour of a naughty British sex farce. The action is set in a beautiful country manor, brilliantly designed by UMD student Joe Johnson.
Johnson had to not only have the set look gorgeous, he also had to design it to turn completely around for the second act when we see the shenanigans happening backstage, and then have it turn back again to the interior of the manor for the third act.
Do stay in the theater to watch one of the two intermissions. It's theatrical magic "exposed" as part of the evening's fun.
While the pacing is slow in act one, it is necessary to set up the exposition for acts two and three when the wheels really come off the comic wagon and pandemonium reigns supreme onstage and off.
Playing dual and sometimes triple roles, the actors have an acting mountain to climb. Add to that the physical challenges of the show, and the cast is really put to the test. UMD brought in professional stunt coordinator and UMD alumni, Mathias Anderson, to help the company successfully nail the physical "schtick."
Reese Britts (Frederick) channels Dick Van Dyke in his prime, all rubbery legged and loose limbed. Britts' falls, fainting spells and hilarious tackling of a big staircase with his pants around his ankles jumping two steps at a time, are some of the evening's best comic moments.
Amelia Barr, as his onstage wife, Belinda, is all stiff upper lip and British reserve, the lady of the manor. Barr delivers a mature and elegant performance, with every facial expression, comedic physicality and line delivery top notch.
Less convincing is Haley Methner who underplays the sexy blonde bombshell role. Sarah Dickson as the housekeeper Dotty, keeper of the sardines, starts off slowly, but builds to a wonderfully comic and physical peak in the insane goings on of the third act.
Theater folks who have done shows that have bordered on the unintentionally chaotic both onstage and off will commiserate with the beleaguered cast and crew. And the uninitiated who may wonder what life backstage looks like, get a behind-the-curtain view.
Director Kate Ufema and her talented troupe successfully mine the comic potential in the script, providing audiences with a hot farce on a cold early winter night.
