Noises Off

"The heady, headlong and altogether hilarious farce providing generous doses of heat-generating laughter as the winter chill finally sets in…Once it hits its lively stride, Mr. Herrin’s production rollicks along with machine-tooled precision, churning out belly laughs as if from an assembly line…'Noises Off' would be a mere dissertation in clever dramaturgical mechanics, were it not for the expertly drawn characters, here embodied by a first-rate cast." Full Review

"The ensemble in the new Broadway revival includes some of the funniest people in the biz. And they’re having a ball, each one firing up at least one memorable scene or move...At times it seems as if the cast is so focused on hitting its marks — 'Noises Off' requires Swiss-like precision — that the actors forget to have fun. Let’s hope that with time, they’ll become as comfortable as sardines in oil, and the production should gear up into the required breakneck speed and unhinged ­lunacy." Full Review

"The funniest backstage comedy ever written…Director Jeremy Herrin painstakingly sets up the dominoes in a muted first act, only to knock them down in spectacular fashion in the second, and dynamite them in the third...Cheeky design, a highly talented ensemble, and perfect comic timing: This 'Noises Off' has the right combination of elements to make the perpetually funny comedy soar. If you're looking for a night of gut-busting hilarity, you can't do any better than this one." Full Review

"An uproarious new revival solidly mounted by Jeremy Herrin, featuring a fantastic ensemble of seasoned stage actors strutting their stuff…The gifted clown Andrea Martin is just darling as Dotty…Jeremy Shamos is very funny as the good-natured, but nervous wreck Frederick, and has a bit of physical business about regaining his footing that might very well get him nominated for an Astaire Award…'Noises Off' is a night of wild, frenetic fun." Full Review

"Funny lady Andrea Martin leads the nimble cast of this well-tooled revival...Martin who was born to make us laugh, is a perfect hoot in the pivotal role of the scatterbrained actress…On the laugh meter, Act I is only so-so. But as a setup for the next two acts, it’s brilliant. Act II is bust-a-gut funny…'Noises Off' seems to be always playing somewhere in the civilized world...And that’s exactly the way it should be, because this kind of comedic brilliance never gets stale." Full Review

"'Noises Off' is a precision-timed laugh machine, and director Jeremy Herrin’s ensemble is peppered with some of New York’s finest comic actors. So why did I chuckle so little? Various excuses could be made. There’s the culture gap: Good as our American troupers are, they don’t quite get the jauntily sleazy vibe of English sex comedy. Or the fault lies in the director...All due respect to the gamely guffawing audience with whom I attended, but I wanted to make more noise." Full Review

"This cast is so well-matched that they really do seem to have been working together for months….Indeed, the astonishing thing about the contrivances is that, in a well-judged production like this one, they eventually break into yet another sphere…How something can be both nonsense and (in the context of the play) inevitable is a great and beautiful mystery, one that makes 'Noises Off' not just one of the funniest plays ever written but one of the best." Full Review

"This 'Noises Off' is splendidly delirious fun…A perfectly-calibrated production which brings full value to Frayn's text while adding layers of visual humor that leaves audiences hooting with delight…Herrin's production is slam-bang, knockdown funny…Director Herrin has pulled out all the stops with this 'Noises Off,' with a fair share of the credit due the insanely warped mind of Michael Frayn, who dreamed the contraption up." Full Review

"An excellent cast, though notably undiverse, except in terms of acting styles, which is something of a problem…Is it funny? Of course it’s funny. It’s very funny. It can’t help but be very funny. Even the terrible movie version is funny. But could it be funnier? Well, yes…The actors don’t quite seem to be in the same play or even the same play within a play…The chemistry of the whole cast only crackles sometimes." Full Review

"Director Jeremy Herrin gets most of the necessary split-second timing right but also slides in a bit of character development...'Noises Off' doesn’t have much on its mind other than making audiences laugh, this production does that in spades, but also gives us a group of real people falling down the stairs, slamming doors, and slipping on dropped sardines, which makes the antics all the funnier." Full Review

"An impressive nine-member cast, made up of the best of Broadway today…I can’t remember ever hearing laughter at a higher sustained volume for any show on Broadway…Such a reaction en masse is just a slightly alienating experience for those of us who can’t help viewing this three-decade-old farce as little more than 'The Three Stooges' with a British accent...Such proscenium pandemonium requires precise coordination, and director Jeremy Herrin is clearly up to the task." Full Review

"To work, any production of 'Noises Off' requires the most exacting direction. Happily, the director has attended to every tiny gear embedded in Frayn's comic mechanism, allowing it to function with Swiss precision...The current version is going to make a lot of people happy, for very good reason. It's the kind of show that, days later, maybe in a low moment, you think of again -- and find yourself chuckling helplessly." Full Review

"For the most part this cast has these characters buttoned down tighter than a ship’s canvas...If you don’t care a whit for meaning or purpose or terribly deep thoughts – treat yourself to a bundle of laughs." Full Review

"Jeremy Herrin directs a pitch perfect cast and really I have no complaints. The actors are committed and create specific, real characters, which can and should make the comedy funnier. They're not just delivering broad comedy here...I certainly had a fine time and enjoyed it much more than the revival of 2001. But somehow, it left me cold." Full Review

"It's easy to see why 'Noises Off' is a theatrical favorite. And the current incarnation, with a superb cast hits the mark. Hilty's goofy blonde clicks, while Martin, a Broadway staple, doesn't miss a beat. Director Jeremy Herrin has assembled a sharp ensemble that delivers comedy gold." Full Review

"The performances haven't yet clicked into the tight lockstep required to make Frayn's intricate comedy run at full tilt…While there are some brilliant set-pieces and terrific physical comedy, the repetition built into the material grows tiring...Despite its wit, structural inventiveness and reputation as one of the all-time great farces, this is a tough play to pull off. Even if they're not 100 percent there yet, Herrin and his ace cast seem well on their way to mastering it." Full Review

"The second act in particular is a whirligig of slapstick choreography for whose pristine execution Mr. Herrin deserves the highest possible marks. The secret ingredient of his production is that Mr. Herrin has gone to similar lengths to ensure that every member of the cast plays for truth, not laughs—which makes you laugh twice as hard…Complaints? I’ve got none. This show is flawless." Full Review

"For 'Noises Off' to work on a basic level, its thoroughly intricate physical activity must be staged with the precision of a ballet. But a great production, which this revival certainly is, builds the slapstick around truthful performances, thus making the chaos feel natural…Act Two is a tour-de-force of silent comedy…Jeremy Herrin has brought together a dynamic ensemble cast of stage veterans." Full Review

"Director Jeremy Herrin and his near-consummate cast have achieved a feat I'd previously deemed impossible: They've unlocked more complexities in 'Nothing On,' the thoroughly absurd play-within-a-play…'Nothing On' means something powerful to each and every person putting it on…It's to Herrin's immense credit that so many of the thousand jokes still hit their targets, when they never seem to be his prevailing goal." Full Review

"This production gets about it about halfway right — so even with a soggy and slack final stretch, you’re left grinning over the show’s sly inner workings…Act I, set amid a dress rehearsal of 'Nothing On,' lands some good laughs…Act II, set a month later, rotates the perspective…This is when real show hits its stride. It’s packed tight as a tin of sardines with laughter. But Act III, set a month later, leads to diminishing returns. It strives to be madcap merry mayhem, but it’s overly long ov... Full Review

"A percussive dose of slamming doors, wince-inducing pratfalls and enough suggestive tomfoolery to fill the bill at Minsky’s…Jeremy Herrin lets 'Noises Off' wind up a bit slowly, but once all the gears are in synch, the show is a dazzlement of set-pieces fit together with jigsaw perfection. Martin returns to her roots as a mistress of the comic gesture, doing more with a plate of fish or an old newspaper than you may have imagined possible." Full Review

"The Roundabout has certainly assembled a team of farceurs who handle Frayn's ingeniously constructed mayhem with zest and the required timing…Somehow, despite quite a few funny bits, the first act is more a chuckle than a belly-holding laugh fest. The actors seemed to be working a bit too hard which became obvious as they go full steam into the ever more disastrous trajectory of the 'Noises On' tour." Full Review

"This nearly perfect British farce is getting another spectacular revival…This team is perfection, making it all look so easy and seamless. All should be credited with the word, ‘spectacular’...The only complaint I have of this whole shows lies in the portrayal of love and attraction... I can’t say I ever believed in the love or the affairs, I never really saw it, nor felt it...This cast of professionals are spot on perfect, never missing a beat or failing to get the laugh. Full Review

"Though the production is entertaining for its comic portrayals, it fails to trigger all the laughs inherent in the script or become the laugh riot it is intended to be...The stage business is clockwork in its precision but the play’s timing lacks the breakneck speed of an Acela for this farce within a farce. The fine cast, however, attuned to their specific and generically comic roles, all have their funny bits and memorable moments finding themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time." Full Review

"Michael Frayn's farce about putting on a stage farce is breathlessly clever and funny, a staple of the contemporary theater repertoire. How can it be made even funnier? The Roundabout Theatre Company somehow has found a way...An all-star group of comedic talents allowed to run riot…Everyone onstage has to believe that the risks are real, and this new ensemble never mugs or winks. They are utterly, terribly good at being bad, which is meant as a supreme compliment." Full Review