Confetti’s “No Exit” Worth Waiting An Eternity For

Hell is other people, sure, but this production is heavenly. Confetti Stage‘s “No Exit” is a fabulous example of the magic that can be created in silence on stage. Director Joe Plock has done an exceptional job crafting characters with immense complexity, beyond what Jean-Paul Sartrè’s musings might have originally intended.

The show was originally supposed to go up in 2020, but it seems as though the extra time Plock had with the material was far from wasted.

From the top of the show, the deliciously smug Bellhop brings the audience into the wonderfully unsuspecting set. These traits reveal to be quite intentional, as one of the characters makes clear in the course of the action. This paired with Nick Nealon’s ever-discernible and brilliant lighting makes the room a character of its own. More specifically, the final image created by Nealon is wonderfully haunting. You’ll have to see it for yourself.

Rachel Leigh Head is of particular note as Estelle, a tortured and glamorous society woman. Head has a lived-in quality that runs like a fine thread throughout the show. Her engagement with her surroundings is poignant, but never distracting. This makes her realizations in the room all the more devastating. Her tensions with Jennifer Van Iderstyne’s jaded and sometimes smoky Inez cement a great ensemble of individual characters who absolutely detest each other.

Although one might think of a philosopher such as Sartrè and immediately associate him with written words, this cast does a brilliant job of filling the spaces in-between. A darkly comedic moment that stayed with me was the first time Vincent James Lounello’s Cradeau sits on his respective chaise, unsure of how the furniture might respond. Each actor silently fanning themselves or undoing a necktie makes the audience feel the heat of hell ramp up… metaphorically, of course.

“No Exit” will run February 25 ,26 and 27 And on March 3, 4, 5 and 6 at the Albany Masonic Lodge (67 Corning Place, Albany). Performances are at 7:30 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 pm on Sundays. Tickets are $15 General Admission, $12 for students or under 12.