NOISES OFF

Season: 59 (2004 - 2005)

Run Date(s): Feb. 4, 2005 - Feb. 20, 2005

Description: Letters to Elsie Concerns about NOISES OFF Prompt Readers to Write Dear Elsie, I want to volunteer to work on the tech crew of the play, NOISES OFF, at the Lincoln Community Playhouse. But Iíve heard some pretty lurid stories about backstage shenanigans in theatres and wonder if I might possibly (hopefully) get swept up in a theatrical romance. Lonely in Lincoln Dear Lonely, Wake up and smell the greasepaint, honey! NOISES OFF? Thatís a notoriously funny sex farce by about a theatre troupe performing a sex farce. I suspect the onstage innuendo and double entendre extend behind the curtain, too. I heard that Poppy, the assistant stage manager, has carried on rather hot and heavy with the playís director, a Casanova who falls for every blond bombshell who crosses his path. If you want to work in the theatre, honey, thatís your cup of joe, but Iíll bet you a tin of sardines there will be some hanky panky in the wings. Dear Elsie, Can you settle a question of proper theatre etiquette? My best friend and I disagree about how to behave in the theatre when watching a really hilarious play, like Michael Fraynís NOISES OFF. She thinks itís perfectly okay to guffaw with gusto at all the funny parts. I think itís best to restrain yourself ñ if we laughed out loud at all the comical stuff in this play, the show couldnít go on, and weíd be in the theatre all night. We have a bet riding on your answer ñ the loser buys the tickets. Doubled up in Nebraska Dear Doubled, NOISES OFF has been called the funniest farce ever written. Not just one play but two, NOISES OFF is simultaneously the English sex farce NOTHING ON, and the backstage "drama" that develops during NOTHING ON's final dress rehearsal and tour. The two begin to interweave as the characters make their exits from the hilariously mediocre onstage production, only to find themselves making entrances into the even worse nightmare going on backstage. The actors stumble through their lines, distracted by a whirlwind of onstage calamities, while behind the scenes, they collide catastrophically in a real-life sex farce that parallels the one theyíre performing. Finally, in open revolt against each other and their production, the actors rewrite and sabotage every line of their script. So, yes, there is much to laugh about and youíre likely to be snickering from start to stop. But Iím with your friend on this one ñ we all need to just let loose every now and then. Elsieís advice is to go for it ñ snort, cackle, giggle, chuckle, chortle and hoot ñ have hysterics, laugh until you fall out of your chair, laugh until you cry. So youíd better call 489-7529 and order two tickets ñ you lost the bet. Note to our audience: This play contains some adult situations and language. SHOW DATES AND TIMES Friday, February 4, 2005, 7:30PM Saturday, February 5, 2005, 7:30 PM Sunday, February 6, 2:00 PM* Thursday, February 10, 7:30 PM Friday, February 11, 2005, 7:30PM Saturday, February 12, 2005, 7:30 PM Sunday, February 13, 2:00 PM Thursday, February 17, 7:30 PM Friday, February 18, 2005, 7:30PM Saturday, February 19, 2005, 7:30 PM Sunday, February 20, 2:00 PM *The 2:00 p.m. performance on Sunday, February 6, will be interpreted for the deaf and hard of hearing by request only. If you will require the services of a sign language interpreter, please call DeAnna at 489-7529 no later than January 24, 2005.