Noises Off
at Washington Liberty High School

Reviewed on October 26, 2019

Maya Andersen
Bishop Ireton High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

You tumble down the stairs, you forgot the sardines, and maybe even your pants fell down. How do you hold a show together when everything backstage and onstage is falling apart? Director Lloyd Dallas tries to maintain his sanity during a final dress rehearsal, watching his actors confuse their blocking and lines. We later see two performances of the show they put on, one from the perspective of the audience, and one from backstage. Michael Frayn's 1982 masterpiece Noises Off calls for perfect timing, outrageous slapstick humor, and an unusual sincerity throughout a ridiculous series of events. Washington-Liberty High School did nothing short of a fantastic job with such a demanding show, demonstrating very well-rehearsed physical comedy and British accents, keeping high energy throughout the three acts, and enticing the audience with well-rounded characters and their hilarious relationship drama.

As mentioned before, Noises Off requires a complete flip of the set to show the two perspectives of the play being performed. Washington-Liberty did not fail to produce a magnificent two-story set, skillfully built as several different structures so that they could quickly be flipped between acts. Since the set is key to the physical comedy, the show depends on good set design, and Luella Wallander, John Riris, and Brady Dunne went above and beyond in designing the perfect set for the actors to perform their hilarious blocking.

Despite a very funny script, the play requires the actors themselves to bring comedy to their roles and relationships within the show. Elec Schoenbrun as Tim Allgood did a spectacular job in bringing the comedy to a comparatively smaller role. His high energy and hilarious delivery had the audience in stitches throughout the entire show. Besides a clearly well-rehearsed Scottish accent, Nicole Tucker as Belinda Blair brought incredible energy and character development to her role, showing Blair's vast range of emotion. Tucker clearly showed Blair's switch from a collected, sweet actress into a jealous, angry one between acts two and three.

Hair and make-up are essential to this particular show due to the ages of the actors. Marissa McDonnell and Talia Roman did an excellent job with the significant old-age make-up needed for Dotty Otley (Lindsey Gradowski) and Selsdon Mowbray (Sydney Miller). Costume design by Naomi Abramowicz and Cassie Smith was perfectly suited to the era implied by the show. The costumes brought another level of maturity to the show, enhancing the believability of the adult characters.

With nine actors and a vast backstage crew, Washington-Liberty left the audience in tears with hilarious comedy during the show and sent them off with a smile on their faces after seeing a truly delightful performance of Noises Off. This high school took a physically and intellectually demanding show, made it their own, and acted the pants off it, at times literally.

Mason Clark
Thomas A Edison High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

What's the last thing you'd expect to see in a show? "Sardines!!" Washington-Liberty High School's performance of the comedy "Noises Off" was anything but fishy; it was a cornucopia of frantic chaos and comedic timing.

"Noises Off" was written by Michael Frayn in 1982, but it was originally a one act play titled "Exits" until his associate Michael Cordon insisted that he keep building the story. Not only has this play been adapted into a film, it has won a number of awards including: a Drama Desk award for outstanding director of a play and ensemble for its first Broadway run in 1984, and both an Outer Critics Circle and a Tony award for a featured actress in a play in 2002 from the 2001 Broadway revival.

This show was about the fictitious British production of "Nothing On", directed by Lloyd Dallas (played by John-William Cordero), and the mishaps that occur throughout the show's run, from pants falling down to characters sitting on cacti. Characters included Mrs. Clackett (played by Lindsey Gradowski), Roger (played by Mattie Nguyen), and others. Act 1 was the rehearsal the night before the show, Act 2 was a backstage view of the show a month later, and Act 3 was another front-facing view of the stage when the entire show is on its last legs.

Mattie Nguyen, who played the actor Garry, dazzled the stage with exuberant motions and a wholehearted understanding of the sheer amount of stress his character was under. He managed to not only deliver his line "y-you know" in a refreshing way each time he said it, but also keep his energy up, even though falling down flights of stairs and almost being chopped in half by an ax. John-William Cordero, who played the director (Lloyd Dallas), also portrayed immense amounts of stress, and although his stylings consisted of mainly strained shouting, his facial expressions gave a riveting aspect to the chaos of the story.

The work of Elec Schoenbrun, who played the overlooked stagehand and understudy Tim Allgood, is also one to be commended. His characterization was deliciously vibrant, with trembling hands and the eyes and facial expressions of someone on their twelfth cup of coffee, he savored every moment he had on the stage. Lindsey Gradowski also invigorated the stage with her facial expressions. Her ability to express her emotions, whether it be love or a mental breakdown, was an asset to this production.

The set in this show, created by Brady Dunne, John Riris, and Luella Wallander, featured a complicated set of doors that not only held up against an onslaught of fumbles, tumbles, and rumbles, but it also rotated to show the backstage area in the second act. This set electrified and energized the show, allowing the actors to rush in and out from door to door and for the comedic action to flourish.

Another group that dug deep into their potential was the makeup duo Marissa McDonnell and Talia Roman. These two grasped not only the need for the actors to appear older, but also the need to show the striking age and character difference among the characters. They did so by varying the intensity of the makeup, with the effect of bolstering the uniqueness of each character and perfectly polishing the professionalism of this performance.

The commitment of both the actors and the backstage folk to flavor this production with their own stylings is what made this show as animated as it was. Washington-Liberty's performance may have wanted to keep the "Noises Off", but the praise for their hard work will keep on coming.

Dagny Scannell
Bishop Ireton High School
Submitted for publication to Patch.com

"Doors and sardines. That's what it's all about! Doors and sardines." Washington-Liberty High School's performance of the British comedy Noises Off revealed a new perspective on theatrical mayhem and showed what happens when drama offstage spills over into the view of the audience. Through their perfectly timed remarks, thoroughly-rehearsed blocking and slapstick humor, the cast and crew of W-L Theatre had the audience falling out of their seats.

Noises Off was written in 1982 by Michael Frayn, and is split into three acts which follow the rehearsal/performance process of the fictitious production "Nothing On" throughout England. The cast of this show within a show, directed by Lloyd Dallas (John-William Cordero), is a somewhat dysfunctional crew, riddled with affairs, confusion and a common desire to get the show up and running successfully. Love triangles (which end up becoming more like love hexagons), missing actors/understudies and many more criss-crossing relationships become increasingly tangled as the show progresses. Despite the chaos that ensues in Noises Off, the hysterical plot progresses relatively clearly, and this show has been a crowd-pleaser for years.

Washington-Liberty's execution of this show was very impressive. Due to its many moving elements and intricate plot, Noises Off can be a rather daunting play, but these high-schoolers were clearly up to the task. Each actor (especially during the second act - which showed the most action both "on" and "offstage" but introduced almost no new dialogue) navigated a precise path and was intensely focused on their individual characters, objectives, obstacles, etc. Even as the audience's point of view was shifted (seeing "Nothing On" from both in front of and behind the set), the ensemble's consistency and interactions with other components of the show (such as the many doors on their set or the flowers, bottles, sheets or weapons thrown about "backstage") made for a clear story line.

The actors in this production often worked together as a cohesive unit, but there were also nicely developed, mirrored relationships and personality traits that gave the show another interesting dimension. The "onstage" relationship of Garry (Mattie Nguyen) and Brooke (Anna Downs) was similar to that of Frederick (Sebastian Cruz) and Belinda (Nicole Tucker), just as each of these character's separate, "offstage" relationships skillfully parallel their fictional love-lives. The individual personas of each character shone clearly, and everyone's "bit" was played in such a way that nothing seemed repetitive. Many outstanding performances displayed Washington-Liberty students' versatility and dedication. Garry's ease as an actor but indecision as a person (on top of a shockingly realistic fall down a flight of stairs) was a job well-done for Mattie Nguyen. Nicole Tucker, playing Belinda, was able to skillfully balance her character's (initially) supportive demeanor and not one, but two distinct accents. Elec Schoenbrun, a freshman at W-L, did a fantastic job playing Tim, an anxious and overworked stage manager nearly at his breaking point. In addition to the acting, the costumes (ranging from well-kept to disheveled to "missing"), the lights and the sounds were all effectively used to aid the plot in the funniest way possible.

Washington-Liberty's take on Noises Off was ridiculously funny and well-rehearsed, and allowed many high-school actors to shine both individually and as an ensemble. This comedy was all about responding when things on and offstage go wrong, but that certainly wasn't something this school had to worry about.

Catherine Kolesar
Georgetown Visitation
Submitted for publication to Insidenova - Sun Gazette

Washington-Liberty High School's performance of "Noises Off," a tremendously difficult play, was "well...you know," outstanding. This play within a play, set in England during the 1980s, portrays the cast and crew of "Nothing On" and their chaotic performances with mediocre actors. In the first act, the characters stumble through their lines and stage directions in their last dress rehearsal. The second act gives the audience the unique perspective of the viewing the show and the tangled relationships of the characters from behind the set during a performance. In the final act, the characters have become even more hapless, and the performance ends in a terrible, yet hilarious mess of characters who cannot wait for the show to be over.

This performance had the audience audibly laughingly throughout all three acts. There was never a dull moment on stage. Between Dotty's (Lindsey Gradowski) energy, Lloyd's (John-William Cordero) sarcasm, and Selsdon's (Sydney Miller) desperate tendencies, the audience was constantly engaged in all the students' performances.

With a cast of only nine students, the audience was able to understand the characters both on and offstage. The second act revealed Belinda's (Nicole Tucker) caring nature as the motherly figure in the cast who has to fix everything that had gone wrong and stop the dramatic fights between other characters. Belinda's character was able to flawlessly shift between a caring character when not performing and a sarcastic and quick-witted character in "Nothing On." She did not only switch her mannerisms between her two characters, but also her accent. She was able to flawlessly switch between a British and Scottish accent, in an astounding and entertaining way.

The students' dedication to the production was obvious through their portrayal of their characters--for example, Garry (Mattie Nguyen) fearlessly tumbled down the stairs for dramatic effect and tripped over himself for comedic effect throughout the show. His stunts had the entire audience sitting on the edge of their seats, hoping he was not truly injured.

The timing and execution of this performance was absolutely incredible. The recurring motif of doors played a major role in the show and revealed the attention to detail of the students. They flawlessly shifted between scenes with characters entering and exiting at the same instant to add to the suspense and comedy of the show.

The work of the tech crew was truly impressive, from their massive set to their beautiful costumes and numerous props. They constructed a two-story set with intricate details on both the front and back under the guidance of Brady Dunne, John Riris, and Luella Wallander. The dedication of the stage managers, Sydney Fisher and Mia Tanner, with organizing rehearsals and overseeing the technical aspects of the very detailed show were evident with the flawless execution of the play.

The students did an amazing job of portraying exhausted and overwhelmed actors for the concluding scene. The audience loved seeing the characters "Noises Off" became gradually angrier and more hopeless in their performance in "Nothing On." This show required close attention to detail, both for the actors and tech, and the students did a wonderful job in all aspects of the show, using organized chaos to dramatize the chaotic mess of the mediocre performers in "Nothing On."

Mary Kate Ganley
McLean High School
Submitted for publication to Connection

When all the world is chaos, there's nothing like a good old-fashioned plate of sardines. So sit back, relax, and revel in the calamity of Washington-Liberty's farcical production of "Noises Off." Even the simplest of times can descend into chaos when things don't go to plan. In this show inside a show, the audience gets a glimpse into the trials of a wonderfully disastrous show.

Grounded in calamity, "Noises Off" is a play about performing a play. It was written by Michael Frayn in the early 1980s, the same era as the show's setting. Evolving from Frayn's 1977 work, Exits, "Noises Off" premiered five years later and became a swift success in the theatre community. This show-within-a-show features a nine-person cast who depict six actors, two crew heads, and a director. The ensemble scrambles to put their show, "Nothing On", on its legs right before the opening performance. The hours before the curtain opens, we see Lloyd, a sarcastic and frustrated director attempting to get a show on its feet regardless of ditzy actresses, nervous actors and stressed out stagehands. "Noises Off" takes the audience through a process familiar to any theatre student: a run though, a mid-run performance with a tumultuous ax-laden glimpse backstage, and a final show wrought with disaster.

Stumbling about the set and trailing sentences off with a 'you know...' Mattie Nguyen provided an indecisive air as Garry Lejeune. In "Nothing On", the show inside of the show, Nguyen took on a doubled acting challenge, having to portray the confident Roger while maintaining Garry's overwhelming uncertainty. Nguyen provided an exaggerated but honest rendition of the schism between an actor and his role. When faced with disaster during opening night, Nguyen demonstrated his commitment to the role when tripping over a couch, slipping on sardines, or falling down an entire flight of stairs. Following suit was Nicole Tucker, as Belinda, who demonstrated her versatility with a number of vocal shifts, switching in and out of a maternal tone. Tucker's ability to make mistakes in "Nothing On" seemed far more planned, cementing her character as the competent improviser of the bunch.

Equally overworked and unrested, Elec Schoenbrun's performance as Tim Allgood brought forth a burnt-out character who seemed to teeter on the brink of sanity. Naturally flowing in and out of exhaustion, frustration, and self-contained horror of what his life has come to, Schoenbrun was a delight to watch. In particular, he excelled in executing subtle but decisive actions, such as turning back, away, and back again to a bottle of Bacardi, and gripping his hammer a little too tightly when incited. On the opposite side of the emotional spectrum from Tim was Selsdon, played by Sydney Miller. Miller was concise and flowing in her acting choices, capitalizing on the unaware and tipsy energy of the character.

Mastering the show's technical elements and how they purposefully go wrong was the Stage Management team, headed by Sydney Fisher, Mia Tanner, and Nora Wien-Herman. They provided precise, fastidious, and silent work, rotating the set from front to back. Alongside them, the props designers and crew have to be commended for their notable and careful considerations of the time period and of the actors in a show so reliant on prop work.

From silent backstage fights to mixed up announcements to the house, "Noises Off" was a delightful piece to watch fall apart at the seams. Washington-Liberty's performance of this slapstick farce not only showed the efforts of the cast but also allowed its technical aspects to shine through. Don't forget! Leave the sardines, take the newspaper.