Updated on October 8, 2025.

By SHARON EBERSON

Among the loudest applause on opening night of Noises Off at Pittsburgh Public Theater was the turntable reveal of the play-within-the-play’s backstage, to begin the second act. Another big moment of appreciation came even before the play began, when it was revealed that Pittsburgh theater artist and educator Kyle Haden has been named as Artistic Consultant, for a company that has been without an Artistic Director since Marya Sea Kaminski departed at the end of July.

The announcement kicked off a night filled with laughter, inspired by a talented troupe delivering on the hilarity and havoc of one of the theater world’s most revered farces. The fictional director’s admonition to his actors, “Sardines and doors,” says a lot about Noises Off. He might also have added, “Kneepads and Ibuprofen,” considering the physical demands of Michael Frayn‘s Tony Award-nominated comedy.

Lara Hayhurst has been racking up a ton of brilliant comedic performances in her hometown in recent years, including in POTUS and An Untitled New Play by Justin Timberlake at City Theatre, and as the solo star of Pittsburgh CLO’s Who’s Holiday! She adds to that list as the endlessly dense Brooke Ashton, who plays Vicki in the fictional play-within-a-play, “Nothing On.” Hayhurst goes through much of Noises Off with very little on, while constantly losing a contact lens and generally overacting up a storm. Her head-first crawl down the stairs is a lesson in how to maximize the laughter in a physical comedy scene. 

Brooke is part of a love triangle with director Lloyd Dallas, a cad whose exasperation grows exponentially throughout (a perfectly cast Rowan Vickers) and Saige Smith – what can’t she do? – as the overwhelmed backstage assistant Poppy. 

Broadway veteran Linda Mugleston struts her comic timing as Dottie, playing the housekeeper Mrs. Clackett. Dottie is hooking up with another actor, with consequences onstage and off. It would help, of course, if only Dottie could remember her lines, as well as where she has placed her plates of sardines.

The chaotic pace is nonstop for all involved, including Jeremy Kahn as the actor Garry Lejeune, who plays Brooke’s love interest in the play, and later, a vengeful lover. Ricardo Vila-Roger shines as the perpetually downcast, insecure Freddie, with Gwendolyn Kelso as the ever-vigilant mother hen, Belinda, and Freddie’s onstage wife. Wali Jamal portrays the gleefully undependable alcoholic actor Selsdon Mowbray; while Matt Henderson earns our empathy as the harassed stage manager, Tim Allgood. 

Eventually, it is romantic entanglements among the “Nothing On” cast members that tick like a time bomb, until the explosive final night of the fictional show’s tour, when all hilarity breaks loose.

Keeping the comings and goings in line with the plot — I counted seven doors among other entry points — is a key to any farce. Director Margot Bordelon wrangles the chaos admirably, with an assist from José Pérez IV, the show’s fight and intimacy director, and stunt coordinator.

Noises Off is a favorite of theater companies and audiences for many reasons, especially for people who enjoy seeing every theatrical stereotype – dumb blond ingenue, philandering director, combustible egos, etc. – gets its comeuppance, as played by highly skilled, committed performers. The farce was a precursor, in many ways, to the popular Play That Goes Wrong, but on a grander scale.

The scenic design by Tim Mackabee, whose sets for the Public have included A Christmas Story: The Play and Little Shop of Horrors, and The Elephant Man on Broadway, had given the large cast a splendidly detailed playground on which to play. Sound designer Stewart Blackwood has met the challenge of a large on-the-move cast, with voices and noises that ring out loud and clear, even from behind closed doors.

This is a play in which every character sports a British accent, from working class to upper crust – if it were televised, I would immediately turn on the captioning. However, nothing is lost in the translation when actions speak as loud as those in Noises Off. 

It is rare to hear uproarious laughter and spontaneous applause throughout a play, and what a delight it was to witness that nonstop, communal enjoyment at the O’Reilly Theater during Saturday’s opening night performance. Sardines are having a moment — a store dedicated to Portuguese sardines has opened in Times Square, and tinned fish are trending on TikTok. The comic genius of Noises Off, however, never goes out of style.

MORE ON KYLE HADEN & THE PUBLIC

Pittsburgh Public’s new Artistic Consultant is a Carnegie Mellon educator in the Acting/Music Theater program, and the Artistic Producer of ColLABo, a production development incubator. Haden also is a producer, actor and sought-after director, whose next local gig is helming Enron for Quantum Theatre.

Sarah Ashley Cain, who was named Associate Artistic Director last year, and Workforce Director Morgan Overton are among those no longer with the Public, amid widespread reports of financial hardships at three major Pittsburgh theaters.

NEW HORIZON THEATER RETURNS TO THE O’REILLY

Get Ready: A Dramedy in Two Acts, In the Key of Life, will be staged at the Public Theater’s Helen Wayne Rauh Rehearsal Hall, in the O’Reilly Theater, October 30-November 9, 2025. For more, visit https://www.newhorizontheater.org/.

TICKETS AND DETAILS

Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production of Noises Off is at the O’Reilly Theater, Downtown, through October 19, 2025. Tickets: Visit https://ppt.org/production/100487/list_performances or call 412-316-1660.

Categories: Arts and Ideas, Our Posts, Reviews

Tags: Kyle Haden, Lara Hayhurst, Linda Mugleston, Noises Off, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Ricardo Vila-Roger, Wali Jamal