Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts' NOISES OFF Closes on Feb. 21

Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts' NOISES OFF Closes on Feb. 21, 2010.

"The Funniest Farce Ever Written" is how the New York critics described the awesome hilarity and mind-boggling mayhem of NOISES OFF. It follows a troupe of has-been, never-was, and wanna-be actors led by a somewhat pretentious and strained-to-the-breaking-point director. They are touring in a typical English bedroom farce called Nothing On through the hinterlands of the outer regions of Britain (the equivalent off Off OFF Broadway in America). As the show progresses from one town to the next, the little romances, intrigues, and foibles of the cast begin to wear on them until, by the time they arrive in the last town, all semblance of the play that they were rehearsing has vanished into the mayhem of their personal and professional vendettas. Shoelaces are tied together, plates of sardines are dumped on heads, alcohol is consumed in quantity, and sexual peccadilloes and dalliances are revealed both onstage and off.

In theatrical stage directions, the term "noises off" specifies sounds that are meant to originate offstage. The play premiered at the Lyric Theatre in London in 1982. Shortly after, it transferred to the West End's Savoy Theatre in The Strand, where it ran until 1987 with five successive casts. It won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy.

On December 11, 1983, Noises Off opened in New York City at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 553 performances. It earned Tony Award nominations including Best Play and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble. On October 5, 2000, the National Theatre in London mounted a revival which ran for two years, transferring to the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End on May 14, 2001. The production then returned to Broadway, again at the Brooks Atkinson, on November 1, 2001, with Patti LuPone, Peter Gallagher, Faith Prince, T.R. Knight, and Katie Finneran. The production was nominated for a Tony and Drama Desk Award as Best Revival of a Play, and Finneran was awarded Best Featured Actress by both groups.

The show will run for 2 hours with intermission and is appropriate for ages 13 and up. There is partial nudity in NOISES OFF.

Tickets will be $16 and can be purchased by visiting online at www.kentuckycenter.org or by calling (502) 562-0100.

 

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