‘Noises Off’ a slapstick revenge comedy that hits the mark

Few events this weekend will offer as much entertainment and fun as Michael Frayn’s zany farce “Noises Off,” a comedy that’s almost too uproarious to believe.

The three-act play, showing this weekend at the University of Maine’s Hauck Auditorium, follows a troupe of mediocre actors as they stumble through a last-minute rehearsal and calamitous presentations of “Nothing On,” a whirlwind sex comedy set in an English country home.

Mayhem develops as the play-within-a-play ensues, and the actors begin to allow their backstage frenzy to spill into their onstage performances. Whether the dilemma is a lost contact lens, a moody actor, a telephone without a receiver, or a misplaced plate of smelly sardines, the result is a slapstick revenge comedy about the hilarious melodrama of real life.

From philandering lovers to hard-of-hearing alcoholics, the play’s cast (within a cast!) runs the gamut of psychotic possibilities. Dotty Otley is a bawdy television comedian who can’t keep her on-stage directions straight and gets cheap thrills from plucking cactus needles from the backside of a younger man.

Brooke Ashton, best known for her nude beer commercials, is a flighty sexpot who has diligently memorized her lines, but couldn’t improvise her way out of a rainstorm.

Garry Lejeune, two-time winner of the Rose Bruford Medal for Effort, can’t quite finish a sentence, but tries to lead the ensemble in expressing dissatisfaction to the director.

Frederick Fellowes comes from a theatrical family and brings every conceivable pretention to the stage. Belinda Blair is a gossipy, pristine former dancer who nips at a flask in the wings, and Selsdon Mowbray, if you can find him, is a slow-moving character actor stuck in the grand tradition of theatrical exaggeration.

Director Lloyd Dallas and his stagehands Tim and Poppy try to bring coherency to the group, but booby traps seem built into the business and before long, all of the distinctions between characters, directors, stage managers and props blur into one horrendously riotous mess.

Real-life director Sandra Hardy shows her own knack for bringing a delightful coherency to this loony script. She has gathered a particularly talented cast that works together with impressive facility. Even though their affected British accents are often difficult to understand, the ensemble delivers lines with impeccable timing and keeps the pace furiously fast. In fact, so many comedic bits are happening so constantly, it’s frustrating knowing that you can’t possibly take in every one.

This is Cate Davis’ best Maine Masque role to date. As Dotty, her irrepressible cynicism and bold inhibition are perfectly played. Charles Graham (Lloyd) shows his mounting frustration and delirium as the show disintegrates into a circus.

Christopher J. Guilmet (Garry) and Joanna King (Brooke) play beautifully off one another. King pouts and scoots about the stage with undying energy, and Guilmet’s tumble down a flight of stairs is particularly amazing (and deserving of the round of applause it elicited opening night).

Thomas Mills (Frederick) shows his skill for delivering one-liners, and the farcical facial expressions of Deborah M. Elz (Belinda) are memorably outlandish. Charles Bouchard (Tim) and Joseph William Ritsch (Selsdon) are in their element with this production, and offer some of the funniest bits of the whole evening. As Poppy, Elena Marie De Siervo shows her increasing versatility as an actress, but is still somewhat stiff.

Scene designer Wayne Merritt and the set construction crew deserve special mention for creating a spectacular set that revolves to show both onstage and backstage scenes.

“Noises Off” will be performed at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28 at Hauck Auditorium. For tickets, call 581-1755.