Last Friday was a day long in coming – I finally got to see the play Noises Off. Mer and I drove the two hours or so down to Otterbein Collge with our friend Brandon, who is a driving force behind CVCA’s theater program. Brandon and Mer had seen Noises Off before, but I never had, and I had been trying to see it for several years.

Noises Off is largely considered one of the finest farces in theater. It tells the story of a small acting troupe trying to put on a play when nothing is going well. We, the audience, see the last rehearsal of the fictional play, which is very funny and sets up the astonishing second act where the set spins around and we get to see what is going on behind the scenes while the play is going on. It is one of the funniest things I have ever seen, with split-second timing and physical comedy galore. There is a good third act as well, but the gem is the second act.

I had never heard of Otterbein College, and I did not get to see too much of it since we were there just to see the play. The campus is pretty, with lots of brick buildings. The theater was spacious and professional-looking, with a large stage and good sight-lines and good lighting. The student actors did a magnificent job to the point where I forgot that a couple of the older characters in the play were actually only in their twenties. It came as a bit of a shock to see the actors break character for the curtain call and to realize they were young.

The play was amazing and well worth the three-plus-hour round-trip. It was great to get to visit with Brandon as well, since he is a busy man and we do not get to chat too often. It was a good evening to laugh through.