NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, April 29.
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Community Players are set to perform “Noises Off” — a comedy by Michael Frayn — with the first show at 7:30 tonight at the Port Angeles Community Playhouse, 1235 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
The play, directed by Mark Lorentzen, follows a troupe of misfits, past their prime, and not quite to their prime actors.
Lorentzen is known for his roles in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” — which he also directed — “South Pacific,” “Godspell” and “Les Miserables.”
The play features Pete Christensen, Ron Graham, Danielle Lorentzen, Josh McLean, Anna Pederson, Jeremy Pederson, Annie Robertson, Sharah Truett and Ken Winters.
This classic farce by Frayn, a Tony Award-winning author, is not just one play, but two — simultaneously a traditional farce called “Nothing On” and the backstage drama that develops during the final rehearsal and tour for that play, organizers said.
Both begin to merge and interlock as the characters make their exits from “Nothing On,” only to find a nightmare going on backstage. In the end, at the disastrous final performance, the two plots can be kept separate no longer and coalesce into a single collective nervous breakdown.
Frayn wrote the comedy after watching a performance of another play, describing that sometimes performances are “funnier from behind than in front,” and penning the play to reflect what it can be like backstage, as well as on.
The play’s title refers to the theatrical term for noises coming from off stage.
Lorentzen said he is extremely honored to work with this cast who “reek of energy! They are all willing and eager to try new things and aren’t afraid of taking risks.”
That is exactly what’s needed when the set is two stories, with multiple doors and as with most farces, it is a supporting character itself, he said.
Lorentzen and the cast have to know where they are at all times, with a front, a back, a down, a door slam, a fall and sets of stairs and two different dialects to remember.
Lorentzen, said his favorite moments are when the cast is working together and “agrees on a gag or series of gags and you see everyone light up. We know we’re producing something unique and hilarious. It’s going to be so much fun for the audiences.”
Show times and tickets
In addition to tonight’s performance, the Port Angeles Community Players will stage “Noises Off” Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. with several additional performances through May 15.
Tickets are $14 for adults and $7 for students and children.
Advanced tickets are available at Odyssey Bookshop, 114 W. Front St., or online at www.pacommunityplayers.com.
If tickets remain, they will be available at the door.
The play contains adult language and subject matter.
For a complete listing of show dates, visit www.pacommunityplayers.com.
For more information, call 360-452-6651.
