The Play that Goes Wrong is a deranged, nonstop — and at times overwhelming — farce. But that’s the beauty of it. For two-hours, complete bedlam ensues on stage: A knocked out leading lady; a set in absolute shambles; flubbed lines; dead men walking; mispronounced words; missing props (even a dog!); a lighting and sound design guy with a fixation on Duran Duran.
But there’s control in the chaos. For every believable misstep and falter there’s precision.
In a very meta turn, the production — on a North American Broadway tour that arrived at Cincinnati’s Aronoff Center Nov. 27, with shows through Dec. 2 — guises itself as the opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor. Similar to the 1985 film Clue, someone has been — gasp! — killed. Was it the mousy butler? Or the victim’s fiancée? Or maybe his best friend (who doubles as his lady’s lover). None of that really matters. Also like Clue, it stays to true to good ol’ British humor steeped in satire, mischief and self-deprecation. Monty Python fans — you’ll love this one.
Written by Henry Lewis of the Mischief Theatre Company along with Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, it premiered in 2012 at London’s Apollo Theatre and snagged a “Best New Comedy” trophy at 2015’s Olivier Awards. If you flip through the playbill, you might find the first sign that something is amiss. A fake director’s note from Chris Bean (aka the president of the Cornley University Drama Society and the “director” of the whole shebang) notes that with a full audience “the piece will truly bring down the house.”
The audience I saw it with during opening night truly laughed from beginning to end. Once — to my embarrassment — I even squealed. At intermission, a man nearby turned to his friends laughing and said, “This is so dumb, right?” And his assessment is correct: It’s deliriously dumb. But entertainment doesn’t always need to mine at a deeper meaning or uncover truths about ourselves. Sometimes, all we need is a good, stupid laugh.
The gimmick could have easily tired, but the cast never lost their enthusiasm (or, perhaps, their shell-shock). They worked together as a well-oiled comedic machine, each catering to their own niche.
And The Play That Goes Wrong delivers. The played-out Sherlock Holmes-esque storyline serves as the perfect backdrop for this play-within-a-play, complete with actors who want us to believe they have no idea what they’re doing.
And the set itself falls apart seemingly effortlessly. For his work, Nigel Hook won a Tony for best scenic design in a play. And deservedly so. Within the walls of an English manor (complete with ghastly wallpaper and red velvet curtains), half of the laughs ensue due to props falling off walls, misplaced props, broken elevators and entire walls clattering.
As one of the characters exclaimed, the set is a “death trap.” To keep the mechanics of chaos churning, Hook told Broadway Box that behind-the-scenes is “down to seconds back there.”
Though only in town for a short stint, The Play that Goes Wrong actually does most things right. If you need a laugh, you’ll find them in bounds with this.
For more info/tickets visit cincinnatiarts.org
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 5, 2018.
