‘Noises Off’ revival a guffaw and a half

Few things get an audience laughing like a door-slamming, plate-dropping, pants-falling farce.

Perhaps that’s because the genre evokes the barely controlled chaos of everyday life, allowing theatergoers to guffaw at other people who are struggling to hold things together. Call it primal scream-with-laughter therapy.

Since it first hit the boards in 1982, “Noises Off” has stood as a particularly riotous example of the genre. A revival of the Michael Frayn comedy proved cathartic in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks, and another version is setting off seismic shocks at the Pasadena Playhouse.

The play is actually a farce within a farce, its mayhem unfolding on stage and behind the scenes of a sex comedy touring the British hinterland. In an elegant home, a housekeeper juggles a plate of sardines and a phone receiver. Then, she pauses and begins to talk to herself as she ponders what to do next. From the auditorium, a voice calls out instructions.

There’s a forced patience in this voice, which belongs to the show’s director, Lloyd Dallas (Adrian Neil). It’s nearly midnight, within 24 hours of the opening of a show called “Nothing On.” But the actress playing the maid -- Dotty Otley (Jane Carr), a fading entertainment personality -- is still having trouble remembering her routines. And that’s only one problem.

Garry Lejeune (Ben Livingston) seems well prepared but must stay on his toes to perform opposite the dim, marginally talented Brooke Ashton (Jamie Day), who plows through her part like a robot. Belinda Blair (Maura Vincent), meanwhile, must cope with the pauses and near-meltdowns of her acting partner, Frederick Fellowes (Dan Hiatt).

The company stage manager, Tim Allgood (Liam Vincent), is a walking zombie who hasn’t slept in 48 hours, and the frazzled assistant stage manager, Poppy Norton-Taylor (Ali Taylor), is forever on the verge of tears. All are trying to keep an eye on graying, hard-of-hearing actor Selsdon Mowbray (Edward Sarafian) so he doesn’t slip off to get soused.

Somehow, this group must not only pull together but also achieve split-second timing. The actors must zip through the set’s many doors, with one woman in her scanties and a man with his pants around his ankles. A bottle of glue and plates of sardines must fatefully enter the mix.

Now, let’s return to our farce-as-metaphor-for-life theory. This first act could be seen as humanity’s heroic attempt to stave off disaster. In Act 2, however, the group effort gives way to dissension, then outright sabotage. It’s a month into the tour, and the set is flipped around so the audience can see the action backstage. Exhaustion has pushed the company to the brink of madness, and romantic jealousies push them over the edge.

Nearly three months into the tour, in Act 3, the company is in the midst of a full-on disaster. We watch from the front again as the actors lose their places during a performance and are forced to improvise.

With her high-pitched voice and gift for dotty behavior, Carr leads the cast effort. She is ably supported by her compatriots, especially Neil, whose director character registers his horror with an expansive array of wide-eyed facial spasms.

The set design by John Iacovelli -- studded with humorous details -- crowns a top-notch design effort. Perhaps the most important contribution, however, comes from real-life director Richard Seyd, who ensures that the pace keeps building until the proceedings are flying along at runaway-train speed.

In farce as in life, it’s all about team effort.

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‘Noises Off’

Where: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena

When: Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 5 and 9 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m.

Ends: Nov. 16

Price: $29.50-$44.50

Contact: (626) 356-PLAY

Running Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes

Jane Carr...Dotty Otley

Adrian Neil...Lloyd Dallas

Ben Livingston...Garry Lejeune

Jamie Day...Brooke Ashton

Ali Taylor...Poppy Norton-Taylor

Dan Hiatt...Frederick Fellowes

Maura Vincent...Belinda Blair

Liam Vincent...Tim Allgood

Edward Sarafian...Selsdon Mowbray

A co-production of Pasadena Playhouse, San Jose Repertory Theatre and Producers Network. Written by Michael Frayn. Directed by Richard Seyd. Set John Iacovelli. Costumes Beaver Bauer. Lights York Kennedy. Sound Jeff Mockus. Production stage manager Donna Rose Fletcher.