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By Carol Davis
 SAN DIEGO—As Stephen Sondheim asks in one of his most popular of tunes (Send In The Clowns), “Don’t You Love Farce?” my answer is “Well, sometimes.” Patience and perseverance are needed to endure the door slamming which is essential in farce and the hysterical, over the top behavior beyond any logical reasoning which is not needed in farce.
Michael Frayn’s 1982 Noises Off, (a British sex farce) currently opening Cygnet Theatre’s seventh season in their now permanent digs at The Theatre in Old Town has all the ingredients necessary to be the hit it is already lauded to be by critics, fans of the theatre and audience members (on opening night) alike, yours truly included.
That said, there are a few other ingredients that this Sean Murray directed play has that this reviewer saw sadly lacking in a production of said show moons ago. They include a top-notch cast, perfect timing and brilliant execution of the material. It doesn’t get much better than that at Cygnet.
To be honest, the plot in any farce is more than insignificant in the scheme of things because when all is said and done, the outcome of the play is judged on whether or not all participants are still standing at play's end. That they were in Cygnet's production says volumes about this cast. In fact one of the cast members, Sandy Campbell, who plays the character Belinda Blair, along with her stage husband Fred (Craig Huisenga) who are supposed to be on Holiday in Spain to avert the tax collectors but secretly steal back home hoping no one will notice them, takes an unexpected spill in the third act, but recovers amazingly well.
Noises Off is a play within a play with three acts. In the first act or the set up we meet the characters of the touring show Nothing On. When we first meet them they are in their final dress rehearsal and if you know anything about the theatre you can tell from a glance that they are clearly not ready for prime time.
The characters are Dotty (Rosina Reynolds) who is playing Mrs. Clackett, the housekeeper who not only has trouble remembering which door to enter and or exit and what to take with her when she leaves the stage. Mrs. Clackett is in charge of Belinda and Lloyd’s house while they are on holiday; young Brooke (Jessica John) who plays Vicki, the bimbo girlfriend of Gary (Jason Heil) a real estate salesperson who can’t remember his lines, finds herself in Fred and Belinda’s house for a little romp in the bedroom with Gary. They think no one is home and will have the house to themselves. Surprise! So do Belinda and Fred who sneak home hoping to find no one there either. Chaos ensues as the two couples, who think they are alone try to escape to the bedroom for some alone time.
Poppy (Kim Strassburger) is the assistant stage manager who is blamed for just about everything but lets on that she’s pregnant with Lloyd's baby; Selsdon (Jonathan McMurtry) who likes to have a nip or two or three between his time on stage and waiting in the wings is deaf as a coot. Lloyd Dallas (Albert Dalyan) is the director who is trying to hold his motley
group together while carrying on extra affairs with Poppy, Dotty and Brooke while planning for his next directorial job staging Richard III. Jason Connor is Tim Allgood the understudy to the manager.
In Act II the entire set (Sean Fanning) is turned around while we see the mishigas and craziness from a backstage perspective. We can see and hear the actors on stage somewhat but the fun is in watching the antics of the actors backstage as they wait to go on stage. Some pretty raunchy and very funny stuff happens. Between all the implied sex acts, hysterical running to and fro up and down stairs along with misunderstood conversations, the play within the play is headed for disaster. The actors are also on the verge of hating one another.
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Act III takes place a month later and the tour has about run its course. We are now looking at the front of the set and watching a performance of Nothing On, the same performance we saw during the final dress rehearsal only this time the scene deconstructs and all hell breaks loose while the actors lose it. They can’t remember their lines, Dotty refuses to come out of her dressing room, Selsdon is drinking more than ever, the actors are at each others throats, the scenery starts to fall apart and the unruly becomes the norm. It’s quite funny and clever to see the deterioration and roll back of the act unfold.
As Sondheim’s song suggests in“Send In The Clowns," we saw them on stage at the Cygnet and they are damn good. Rosina Reynolds and Jonathan McMurtry are two of the most versatile actors of long standing that San Diego has to offer. Before the show I was catching up with McMurtry about his whereabouts and he told me he was just up in Maine playing Judge Biddle, the aging former US Attorney General under FDR, in Joanna Glass’ Trying. Both he and Ms. Reynolds have been recipients of several awards for outstanding work given to them by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. What a coup for Cygnet Theatre to have them playing together.
Jessica John, another fine actor has shown her comedic skills, surely, in this her latest of many fine productions. Sandy Campbell, who in the early days was best known for her wonderful singing voice has also shown a unique ability to pull off a good comedy as has Jason Heil and Kim Strassburger. All in all the only complaint I had was Albert Daylan’s screaming. Over the top is what farce is about, but his was a little too over for me.
Adding to the great look of the show were Peter Herman’s great wigs and hair design, Corey Johnston’s costumes especially the polyester ones, Matt Lescault-Wood’s sound design, Eric Lotze’s lighting, George Yé’s stunt choreographing which made the show work as well as it did while keeping everyone from getting hurt and of Murray who knows a good actor (being one himself) when he sees one.
Noises Off will continue through Aug. 23rd at the Theatre in Old Town. For more information visit cygnettheatre.com
See you at the theatre.
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