The Play That Goes Wrong

In Michael Frayn's well-loved farce "Noises Off!," we see the troubled technical rehearsal of a play, and then the tension-filled backstage antics of the actors, leading up to the incredible third act in which we see production go completely haywire with major script gaffes and set malfunctions. The new comedy "The Play That Goes Wrong," the Olivier Award-winning comedy from the Mischief Theatre Company now playing on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater, is essentially the third act of "Noises Off" on steroids.

Even as the audience is making its way into the theater, we can see this play is in trouble. The black-clad, pony-tailed lighting & sound operator and the stage manager are trying to make last-minute fixes to the set (to no avail). When the lights go down, a cast member welcomes us to the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society's latest offering, "The Murder at Haversham Manor," a dreadful 1920s whodunit about a poisoned man and the intrepid inspector trying to determine whether it was his brother, his fianc�e, his fianc�e's lover, or the butler who done it.

The trouble starts immediately. The door that leads into the set (the study and upstairs library of the manor) is stuck, so cast members must enter from the wings or through a window. The "dead body" on the sofa can't keep still and, following a series of mishaps, must actually crawl himself offstage. Missed sound cues, misplaced props, accidental concussions, and a crumbling set are just a few of the multitudinous problems that befall the production.

Half the fun is the spectacular ineptitude with which the amateur performers deal with the hardships. Virtually incapable of ad-libbing, they doggedly persevere, even if it means drinking from a bottle of paint thinner accidentally left in place of scotch or placing items on a mantelpiece that doesn't exist. No matter how absurd things get onstage, they are committed to finishing this awful play.

"The Play That Goes Wrong" is pure slapstick silliness, wonderfully executed by a talented cast that truly manages to keep the audience in a steady state of hysterics. Actors Henry Lewis (also a co-author) and Greg Tannahill in particular pull off some impressive feats of physical comedy. Dave Hearn is especially charming as the only cast member who ever seems to be aware of how crazy things are getting onstage (and is visibly impressed with himself when he's able to navigate it).

Hats off to writers Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields (all of whom are in the cast as well) for taking a one-trick-pony concept and making it into two hilarious hours. With the aid of director Mark Bell, they succeed in constantly keeping us laughing, making the already ridiculous antics ever more outrageous up until the very end.

It's not high art, but it's a lot of fun. "The Play That Goes Wrong" is the best disastrous production running.

"The Play That Goes Wrong" runs through February 25, 2018 at the Lyceum Theatre, 149 West 45th Street in New York City. For information or tickets, call 212-239-6200 or visit www.broadwaygoeswrong.com.

Brooke Pierce is a freelance writer and playwright in New York City. Her plays have received staged readings at the American Theatre of Actors, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Stage One Theater. Brooke is a member of the Drama Desk and the Dramatists Guild.

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