I got in to sketch a performance of Noises Off at the Orlando Shakes (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL). Pam requested tickets a the back of the theater house right so that the glow of my iPad wouldn’t be noticed by anyone in the audience. We had a guest from France so this was her chance to see what Orlando culture was all about. I was a little concerned when someone sat right behind me. As it turned out that was the actor who plays the director in the show. Withing minutes of the show opening he was shouting at the top of his lungs to stop the action on stage. In this regard we were actually in the best seats in the house.
To say the show is fast paced an hilarious is an understatement. The stakes are high because this is a final dress rehearsal and none of the actors are 100 percent sure of their parts. The polite yet condescending conversations between the cast and the director hit the mark. The show at all time was a run away train of hilarity. Nothing went to plan and if something could go wrong it did go wrong. That my friends is theater in a nut shell.
The second act was set back stage. The entire set is on coasters and the stage hands rotated all the elements as the audience was in the lobby getting drinks. They kept the inner working of the set swap somewhat secret before the second act but they kept the curtain up so everyone could see the magic for the final act.
While I was working on the poster for the show, Someone mentioned that there was no plan to have a curtain. I painted a red curtain on the poster regardless and sure enough there was a red curtain in the show. Life imitates art imitating art.
Noises Off ran through September 25, 2022. So if you missed the show, you missed an amazing hilarious night of theater.