COURTESY BRAD GODA
In the British madcap comedy "Noises Off," a lost contact lens sets off an accident-filled frenzy on stage as the cast of this "play-within-a-play" prepares for their opening night.
Behind the scene
The hilarious antics of a British touring company opens the spring season for Paliku Theatre on the Windward Community College campus.
"Noises Off" originally had a successful revival on both London and Broadway stages in 2000. Written by Michael Frayn in the 1980s, director Ron Bright said it's "basically ... a play-within-a-play that shows what can happen when human foibles intersect with the show-must-go-on determination of a cast and crew. My job as director is easy compared to the actors who have to sustain dual personalities in a madcap comedy."
Theatre manager Tom Holowach said that "Noises Off" will be played on a revolving stage, with one side being the onstage set for the play the touring cast is doing, called "Nothing On," and the other the backstage area.
COURTESY BRAD GODA
Brent Yoshikami and Clara Chorley are part of the ensemble cast for "Noises Off."
"There's eight doors on the set, so the cast will be constantly going through them, sometimes almost missing each other. The audience will become familiar with all the characters in this unique look backstage at this crazy show. In the first act, the audience will get to know what this farce, 'Nothing On,' is about as they see the normal onstage set on the night before the play starts its run. In the second act, which takes place backstage, we see what's supposed to happen and what's going wrong. The third act takes place two months into the show's run and, by then, the cast is totally off its nut, with lines being blown left and right," Holowach said with a chuckle.
"This is a play that Ron really wanted to direct, because he thinks there's a mistaken impression that all he does is musicals. He wanted to prove to people that he can do comedy as well."
The cast includes Patrick Torres, Ghislaine Sopher-Phillips, Brent Yoshikami, Derek Calibre, Clara Ann Chorley, Kayce Erwin, Anne Marie MacPherson, David Schaeffer and Jeff Muse.
» Place: Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College
» Time: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, through May 2
» Tickets: $21 adults; $19 seniors, military, and UH faculty and staff; $15 UH students and children
» Call: 235-7433
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