Laugh Your Socks Off at NHS Theatre Students' Presentation of 'Noises Off'

The award-winning Norcross High School Theater Arts kids have a real treat in store for you, and it's coming up this weekend. Mark your calendars and prepare yourselves for an evening of laughter as the Norcross Players presents "Noises Off," a wild romp of a farce that a "New York Times" critic once called "the funniest play written in my lifetime."  

Performances are scheduled for March 17, 18 and 19 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 20 at 2:00 p.m. at Norcross High School.

Tickets are $10 for preferred seating (you'll be admitted early to select your seat) and $8 for general admission.   

Because "Noises Off" includes some adult themes, dialog and situations, we are giving it a "PG-13" rating and do not recommend it for children ages 12 and under.  
The cast includes:  Senior Erika Miranda as Dotty; senior Braian Rivera as Garry; senior Andrew Schwab as Lloyd the director; senior Tyler Jundt as Frederick; junior Ella Presley as Brooke; senior Alana Levkovitz as Poppy; junior Eh-Den Perlove as Belinda; senior Shaun MacLean as Selsdon; and sophomore Patrick Chapin as Tim. 

The stage manager is junior Katie Reilley, and the assistant stage manager is senior Rachel Hackett.  The director is Gina Parrish.  

"Noises Off," written in 1982 and first performed in London, is perhaps the finest execution of the "play within a play" concept ever staged.  During Act One, the audience is watching a touring company run through a dress rehearsal of the farce "Nothing On," in which the cast members show themselves to be lovable but inept.  

In Act Two, the entire set has been turned 180 degrees, and the audience is now backstage.  The audience can hear the actors performing out front, but all the audience can see is the back side of scenery flats and the various antics of the actors offstage between their entrances and exits.

The play has been on the road for a month, and relationships between cast members have deteriorated, which carries over into the play, causing missed entrances, flubbed lines and general hilarity. 

Finally, in Act Three, it is a month later and the tour is reaching an end.  The set has once again been turned 180 degrees, and the audience is out front again, watching a disastrous performance of "Nothing On." The business of performing the show has now taken a back seat to the business of solving personal problems between cast members.  

Come and enjoy an evening of wild and crazy comedy -- you'll be talking about this one for a long time afterwards. 

Editor's note: Bruce Hackett is the NHS Drama Boosters president.