‘METEOR SHOWER’: Amy Schumer stars in this disappointing ‘comedy’ by Steve Martin. Photo: Matthew Murphy

METEOR SHOWER
Written by Steve Martin
Directed by Jerry Zaks
Through January 21, 2018
Booth Theatre
222 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.meteoronbroadway.com

By David NouNou

Thank God the show has star power. If it wasn’t for that, there isn’t a single reason why anyone would want to see this wisp of a marginal “comedy.” Even if you are a Steve Martin fan, you’ll find this 80-minute babble fest as a head-scratcher and ask “did he really write this”? You have to really stretch to find a plot here. Other than one-liners strung together, you’ll be grateful that it is only 80 minutes long.

Set in 1993 in Ojai, California, Corky (Amy Schumer) and Norm (Jeremy Shamos) are awaiting the arrival of their guests Gerald (Keegan-Michael Key) and Laura (the wonderful Laura Benanti—whom they never met before—for cocktails to watch a meteor shower. Corky and Norm are the boring couple and Gerald and Laura are the aggressive couple who are going to stir things up between Corky and Norm or as they say “bring them down.” That is the entire plot of the show.

What happens in the ensuing 80 minutes is a lot of psychobabble that was big in the 1990s, getting in touch with your feelings and apologizing to each other for not respecting that feelings were hurt. The gimmick here is that they do the same scene with four different endings. Each time Corky and Norm advance their timidity until they overpower Gerald and Laura. Another way of looking at this is that Gerald and Laura are not real and only the invention of Corky and Norm fantasizing about finding themselves through other people by finding their strengths and weaknesses during a meteor shower. Wow, they had a lot of free time in Ojai to delve into such earth-shattering problems.

Amy Shumer has a larger-than-life persona. I give her credit for wanting to stretch her acting chops, but the poor thing has nothing to bite on to make her character be realistic. Keegan-Michael Key has played this role of the belligerent narcissist with better material in his award- winning Comedy Central show “Key and Poole.” Jeremy Shamos strains for credibility. The lone survivor is Laura Benanti and is she luscious when she is seducing not only the people on stage but the audience as well.

Published December 7, 2017

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‘NOISES OFF’: (left to right) Daniel Davis, Kate Jennings Grant, Andrea Martin, Jeremy Shamos & Megan Hilty. Photo: Joan Marcus

NOISES OFF
Written by Michael Frayn
Directed by Jeremy Herrin
Through March 6, 2016
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

There was a time when comedy was a staple on Broadway, now it is a rarity, and a fun-loving farce is nonexistent. So whenever Noises Off is revived, it is a welcome addition to any theatrical season. Mr. Frayn’s comedy has never been considered high art, but is a wonderful, gut-splitting tale about a regional touring company of a bad show, with second-rate actors, from the time of a final dress rehearsal to final performance of the tour. It could be about any American touring company, but this particular one is set in the British hinterlands.

The setup is brilliant: Act I is set at the final dress rehearsal hours before curtain time; you get to see the dreadful play being performed onstage. A lot of the plot centers on sardines, missed cues, slamming doors, pratfalls, bloated egos, affairs souring; in short, every conceivable disaster that a farce faces. Act II is a month later, with all the action taking place backstage at a performance of said dreadful play where the performance starts unraveling. Act III is two months later at the end of the tour and everything has unraveled.

Whether you are a seasoned or a first-time theatergoer, the fun here is the situation is so relatable. You might think that some of the action is so outlandish and far-fetched, but in the theatre it really isn’t, and that is the nature of a farce and one is supposed to go with the flow. With the theme being so universal, I’ve often wondered why when this show is done in America, why Mr. Frayn hasn’t given license to change the setting from England to the USA. This farce would work in any country that has a touring company and it wouldn’t saddle the actors doing atrocious British accents, and most of the actors onstage can’t do a proper English accent to save their life and this is not a deliberate part of the play. The cumulative accents of the actors in this production go in and out of their accents throughout the play, and you wonder why not just drop the British accent and just do it as a straightforward farce without the audience having to strain to understand what is said on stage?

That being said, just sit back and enjoy the high jinks taking place onstage. As this is an ensemble piece, I can’t help but mention the entire cast: Tracee Chimo, Daniel Davis, David Furr, Kate Jennings Grant, Megan Hilty, Andrea Martin, Rob McClure, Campbell Scott and Jeremy Shamos. All lend their comedic talents to this exhausting farce and it is no small feat. Jeremy Herrin, who last year directed Wolf Hall, keeps the cast moving at a frantic pace. All you have to do as the audience is sit back and enjoy an hysterical evening of high jinks in the theatre.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 18, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on January 17, 2016

‘NOISES OFF’: (left to right) Megan Hilty, Daniel Davis, Kate Jennings Grant, Jeremy Shamos, David Furr & Andrea Martin. Photo: Joan Marcus

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