Drama Group to make ‘Noises'

Tyler McMahon, director of Chicago Heights' Drama Group's production of "Noises Off," holds the acclaimed slapstick comedy in high regard.

"It's the funniest show you could possibly see," he said. "It's not this particular production. It's not any particular production. It's every production. The show is just so well written and so funny. You can see a pretty bad production of it and you're probably going to laugh."

Opening Feb. 3 and running through Feb. 12 at Drama Group's Studio Theatre, "Noises" is a look behind the scenes and front of stage of an adult comedy stage production, "Nothing On." From the night before opening to months deep into the shows run, mayhem from virtually all corners in the play-within-a-play ensues with both cast and crew on both sides of the curtain.

Penned by acclaimed British playwright and author Michael Frayn, whose credits include comedies such as 1967's "Towards the End of The Morning" serious works such as "A Landing on the Sun" and "Spies," "Noises" made its stage debut in London in 1982. A year later, it made it to Broadway, where received a Tony Award nomination for Beat Play.

"It's a treat for non-theater people to see something this funny and it's a bigger treat for theater people," McMahon said. "This show is a love letter to theater ... it's got everyone's worst nightmares when it comes to producing a play; short rehearsal times, bad method actors, characters who can't remember their lines, and it's a lot of good old fashioned English farce."

Nate Krug from Crete portrays director Lloyd Dallas in Drama Group's "Noises," and is joined by Jeffrey Pastiak from Palos Park as struggling actor Garry Lejeune and Deb Cairns from Oak Forest as actress Dotty Otley, who struggles both onstage and off in her relationship with Garry. Also lending their talents to the show are Steger's Eric Lee as stage manager Tim Allgood, Kate Messier from Oak Forest as assistant stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor and Olympia Fields' Tony Labriola as alcoholic thesp Selsdon Mowbray.

"I don't think I could've gotten a better cast," McMahon said. "They were very much all ready to work right away when we started and this was a show that they wanted to be in. Every night we tweak, we polish and we find new funny bits.

"My goal, and, I think everybody's goal that's in this production, is for the audience leave with their sides hurting or their cheeks hurting from laughing or smiling so much."

Next up for Drama Group is a production of the Pulitzer Prize winning drama "Rabbit Hole," slated to open at Drama Group's Studio Theatre on April 13.