By Sandra Frederick

Looking for a way to shake the holiday blues? What you need is a trip to the Waterfront Playhouse to see the hilarious “Noises Off,” a comic play written by Michael Frayn and directed by Danny Weathers.

The talented cast includes David Black, Brandon Beach, Carolyn Cooper, Matt Hollis Hulsey, Tony Konrath, Erin McKenna, J. B. McLendon, Joan O’Dowd and Susannah Wells. The impressive two-level set was designed by the Waterfront’s resident set designer, Michael Boyer.

“Noises Off” is presented in three acts that is essentially a 125 minute play within a play entitled “Nothing On.” It offers up a unique and thigh- slapping comical view into what goes on backstage.

From the minute the curtain rises, the director yells critiques from the back of the theater (not always pleasant), doors start slamming and small peals of laughter begin to fill the air.  There could be a moment of confusion among showgoers if they are unaware of the theme of the play.

“Nothing On” is the type of play in which women run about in their underwear, old men drop their trousers and every door (of which there are plenty) and a set of windows continually bangs open and closed as the cast crisscrosses the stage. It is set in a 16th century British mill that has been renovated with the fictional playwright being named Robin Housemonger.

Act I introduces the cast and crew during a spectacularly bad dress rehearsal for “Nothing On.” The actors struggle with getting their lines, cues, entrances and exits right, as well as keeping track of the many plates of sardines that go on and off the stage. Brooke Ashton (Erin McKenna) crawls along the floor comically searching for her lost contact lens, setting up for a hilarious tip-toeing of all the charac- ters on stage. It’s a typical train wreck of a production that keeps the audi- ence stopped and starting right along with the actors on stage. And, there’s a hefty dose of adult language tossed freely about. It’s the longest of the three acts at 55 minutes, but no one notices with the fast pace of the show.