Arena Stage is giving pratfalls for Christmas.

And to be honest, it isn't a bad gift. For its final production of the holiday season, the company has staged Noises Off, a farce that is always a crowd pleaser. And this particular production has its share of charms, even if it wasn't on your list this year.

Noises Off is that literary standard, an amusing play-within-a-play. A goofy group of actors is staging a complicated production laced with slapstick and double entendres, where things can easily go awry. And they do — first at a technical rehearsal, then a little worse as its tour goes on. By the time the final performance rolls around, the players' personal lives are in chaos, and the results are more than apparent during a cacophonous final act.

The play is delightful in the right hands, if a bit exhausting by the third act when we've seen the same bedraggled production of the fictitious "Nothing On" both from the audience and from backstage, and are in for one more outrageous round. We're saved from any monotony by the impish Helen Carey as Dotty Otley, a seasoned actress playing the role of the put-upon housekeeper Mrs. Clackett. Already hysterical in the second act, as she tortured her costar lover by tying his shoes together, here she completely lets loose with no regard for the play-within-a-play's actual script, bringing the work to a zany climax.

Carey is not the only outstanding performer here, and the ensemble cast deserves to be commended for doing a handy job with a difficult play. During Noises Off, doors open and shut at will, individuals run through the stage wielding axes, and tumbles, fist fights and those aforementioned pratfalls abound. The ensemble cast is extremely expressive, milking backstage pantomime and deadpan reactions for all they're worth. Standouts include Jay Russell as a strained stage manager, Robert Prosky as a drunken stage vet, and Stephen F. Schmidt as a nervous nellie of a leading man. While the cast is not above criticism (James Gale's director is a blowhard and nothing more; Stephen Schnetzer's hilariously vague speech patterns frequently seem forced, his stumbles unconvincing), they gel very well, only occasionally faulting on timing when there are many opportunities for error.

The Kreeger stage is well-suited to the play's demands, and the crew has built an impressive rotating stage that we witness in its glory at the beginning of Act Two. The play ends a bit awkwardly — it's hard to tell whether this is the result of a clumsy script change or a performance misstep — but we've already been taken for a pretty exhilarating comedic ride at this point, so it can easily be forgiven. There are so many laughs to be had during this Noises Off, you'll be filled with goodwill towards men by the time you exit the theater.

Noises Off runs through Jan. 28 at Kreeger Theater. Tickets are available online.