The public at large, however, knew little and cared less about what was happening behind the scenes. Their eyeswhen they bothered to look at allwere upon the well lighted stage where the Harding Administration was playing a drama of discreet and seemly statesmanship.
Actions speak louder than words basically means that the character you play as yourself shows the real truth of who you are and what you're capable of, since playing the role of yourself can show your true colors without you even saying a word.
You can use sound like and a noun phrase to say that something has a similar sound to something else. The bird's call sounds like a whistle. Her footsteps sounded like pistol shots. You can also use sound like and a noun phrase to say that someone is talking the way another person usually talks.