THEATRE

• Official Website
• Buy Tickets
• Add to My Favorites

Noises Off by Michael Frayn

Presented by Way Off Broadway Community Players

September 24-October 16, 2010

Avg. Event Rating (4.3 Stars):
Add Review/Comment | Read Reviews/Comments

Comment on Facebook

Way Off Broadway Community Players (WOBCP) will kick off its 14th season on Friday, Sept. 24, with Michael Frayn’s Noises Off. In this fast-paced and hilarious play within a play farce, Frayn presents a manic menagerie as a cast of itinerant actors who attempt to rehearse and produce a paradoxically dreadful sex comedy entitled Nothing On – the type of play in which young girls run about in their underwear, old men drop their trousers, and many doors repeatedly open and shut… and that’s just on stage. Meanwhile backstage, chaos reigns as whispers, rumors, confusion and ill feelings affect everyone’s on-stage performances.

Show dates are Fridays and Saturdays Sept. 24 – Oct. 16 at 8 p.m., and a Sunday matinee on Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.



On opening night, patrons are invited to join the cast and crew after the performance to celebrate the grand opening of the new theatre and the start of the new season with hors d'œuvres and champagne.



WOBCP is located in Building 4, 11880 West FM 2243 (1 mile west of Highway 183 North, and 0.1 miles east of Bagdad Road) in Leander. For reservations, details and directions visit www.wobcp.org, or call the theatre at (512) 259-5878. While tickets will be sold at the door, reservations are encouraged.

• At-a-
  Glance

  • Venue Info

    Way Off Broadway Community Players

    11880 West FM 2243
    Leander, TX 78641

    Full map and directions

  • Admission Info

    Tickets:

    General admission: $20; Seniors and Students: $18; While tickets will be sold at the door, reservations are encouraged.

    Info Phone: (512) 259-5878

    Buy Tickets

  • Dates & Times

    Dates:
    September 24-October 16, 2010

    Times:
    

    8 p.m.

  • Accessibility Info

    

  • Video & Image Gallery

    Video | Images Images

  • Member Reviews

    Add review/comment

    • Event Name: Noises Off by Michael Frayn
      "Nice plate of sardines"
      Review posted by: Jay Y from Austin, TX, Oct 16, 2010
      

      Noises Off is a good example of meta-theatre- theatre about theatre. We start with the farcical antics of a group of actors at a dress rehearsal for a play called "Nothing On." It's pretty bad, and... Expand

      Noises Off is a good example of meta-theatre- theatre about theatre. We start with the farcical antics of a group of actors at a dress rehearsal for a play called "Nothing On." It's pretty bad, and that is part of the point of the story- how much actors can struggle to pull something off. The performances are all adequate, and the sets, which are the main stage for Acts I and III with the backstage in the transitional Act II, look great. Act II was the most interesting for me, as we get to see the deteriorating personal relationships that contribute to the missed lines and increasingly bungled performance. One word of advice: you might want to familiarize yourself with the play quickly before going. The humor involves the farce about the farce- offstage drama leading to confusion on stage- which can be hard to follow at times. Finally, the new space for the WOPC is excellent, though I had never been to the old location. Collapse

    • Event Name: Noises Off by Michael Frayn
      "Noises Off"
      Review posted by: Ryan from Austin, TX, Oct 06, 2010
      

      In the first five minutes of the play, an actor playing a director argues with an actress playing an actress playing a cockney housemaid about newspapers, telephone receivers and sardines. And that's... Expand

      In the first five minutes of the play, an actor playing a director argues with an actress playing an actress playing a cockney housemaid about newspapers, telephone receivers and sardines. And that's a pretty apt introduction to Michael Frayn's "Noises Off." This funny farce thrives on a quick ascension of ridiculous complications made only more complicated by the play-within-a-play structure that rotates focus (and an impressively massive set) from the onstage world in act one, to the backstage world in act two, and back for act three. The casts' energy and precision seems to fall apart in the third act as everything, well, falls apart, but by that time the audience is won over by the players endearing characterizations and sheer joy of playing. I and the crowd around me in WOBCP's spaciously comfy new digs were all grins. And the overwhelming warmth that surrounds this community playhouse in Leander TX is, by itself, something worth smiling about. Collapse

    • Event Name: Noises Off by Michael Frayn
      "Noises Off"
      Review posted by: Michael Meigs from Austin, TX, Oct 06, 2010
      

      Review Excerpt from Michael Meigs: "Michael Frayn's Noises Off is a lively amusement that pokes good-hearted fun at the conventions of the stage, starting with the most basic one: the agreement that... Expand

      Review Excerpt from Michael Meigs: "Michael Frayn's Noises Off is a lively amusement that pokes good-hearted fun at the conventions of the stage, starting with the most basic one: the agreement that we in the audience will accept you, the actors, as the characters that you are pretending to represent. You settle into your comfortable seat in the new WOBCP's wide and spacious new auditorium and accept the silly business of housekeeper Mrs. Clackett's exposition with the telephone and the newspapers and the sardines. Kim Rubin as Mrs. Clackett (photo: Way Off Broadway Community Players) At that point, if you had studied the miniscule print in the rear pages of the program, you might have been puzzled by a whole second set of credits, ads, bios and thank-yous for the production Nothing On by Robin Housemonger..." Entire Review at: http://tinyurl.com/ALTX02 Collapse

    • Event Name: Noises Off by Michael Frayn
      "Noises Off, It's all about timing and sardines!"
      Review posted by: Ed and Shelly Kelly from Leander TX, Sep 25, 2010
      

      My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the show and appreciated the hard work that went into the performance and the set. It is a very physical play with people coming and going seemingly frantically... Expand

      My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the show and appreciated the hard work that went into the performance and the set. It is a very physical play with people coming and going seemingly frantically (timing is everything); doors opening and closing; and sardines everywhere. Great characters! Great performances! Great tech work! Great theater in Leander Texas! Thanks for the show! Collapse

• Media
  Gallery

  • All Media Gallery

    Video | Images Images

• Member
  Reviews

  • Member Reviews

    Add review/comment

    • Event Name: Noises Off by Michael Frayn
      "Nice plate of sardines"
      Review posted by: Jay Y from Austin, TX, Oct 16, 2010
      

      Noises Off is a good example of meta-theatre- theatre about theatre. We start with the farcical antics of a group of actors at a dress rehearsal for a play called "Nothing On." It's pretty bad, and... Expand

      Noises Off is a good example of meta-theatre- theatre about theatre. We start with the farcical antics of a group of actors at a dress rehearsal for a play called "Nothing On." It's pretty bad, and that is part of the point of the story- how much actors can struggle to pull something off. The performances are all adequate, and the sets, which are the main stage for Acts I and III with the backstage in the transitional Act II, look great. Act II was the most interesting for me, as we get to see the deteriorating personal relationships that contribute to the missed lines and increasingly bungled performance. One word of advice: you might want to familiarize yourself with the play quickly before going. The humor involves the farce about the farce- offstage drama leading to confusion on stage- which can be hard to follow at times. Finally, the new space for the WOPC is excellent, though I had never been to the old location. Collapse

    • Event Name: Noises Off by Michael Frayn
      "Noises Off"
      Review posted by: Ryan from Austin, TX, Oct 06, 2010
      

      In the first five minutes of the play, an actor playing a director argues with an actress playing an actress playing a cockney housemaid about newspapers, telephone receivers and sardines. And that's... Expand

      In the first five minutes of the play, an actor playing a director argues with an actress playing an actress playing a cockney housemaid about newspapers, telephone receivers and sardines. And that's a pretty apt introduction to Michael Frayn's "Noises Off." This funny farce thrives on a quick ascension of ridiculous complications made only more complicated by the play-within-a-play structure that rotates focus (and an impressively massive set) from the onstage world in act one, to the backstage world in act two, and back for act three. The casts' energy and precision seems to fall apart in the third act as everything, well, falls apart, but by that time the audience is won over by the players endearing characterizations and sheer joy of playing. I and the crowd around me in WOBCP's spaciously comfy new digs were all grins. And the overwhelming warmth that surrounds this community playhouse in Leander TX is, by itself, something worth smiling about. Collapse

    • Event Name: Noises Off by Michael Frayn
      "Noises Off"
      Review posted by: Michael Meigs from Austin, TX, Oct 06, 2010
      

      Review Excerpt from Michael Meigs: "Michael Frayn's Noises Off is a lively amusement that pokes good-hearted fun at the conventions of the stage, starting with the most basic one: the agreement that... Expand

      Review Excerpt from Michael Meigs: "Michael Frayn's Noises Off is a lively amusement that pokes good-hearted fun at the conventions of the stage, starting with the most basic one: the agreement that we in the audience will accept you, the actors, as the characters that you are pretending to represent. You settle into your comfortable seat in the new WOBCP's wide and spacious new auditorium and accept the silly business of housekeeper Mrs. Clackett's exposition with the telephone and the newspapers and the sardines. Kim Rubin as Mrs. Clackett (photo: Way Off Broadway Community Players) At that point, if you had studied the miniscule print in the rear pages of the program, you might have been puzzled by a whole second set of credits, ads, bios and thank-yous for the production Nothing On by Robin Housemonger..." Entire Review at: http://tinyurl.com/ALTX02 Collapse

    • Event Name: Noises Off by Michael Frayn
      "Noises Off, It's all about timing and sardines!"
      Review posted by: Ed and Shelly Kelly from Leander TX, Sep 25, 2010
      

      My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the show and appreciated the hard work that went into the performance and the set. It is a very physical play with people coming and going seemingly frantically... Expand

      My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the show and appreciated the hard work that went into the performance and the set. It is a very physical play with people coming and going seemingly frantically (timing is everything); doors opening and closing; and sardines everywhere. Great characters! Great performances! Great tech work! Great theater in Leander Texas! Thanks for the show! Collapse

• Media
  Reviews

  • Media Reviews

    There are currently no media reviews for this event.