It’s every actor’s nightmare. When the powers of live theatre turn against you in front of a live audience. Unlike all other media, there is no one to yell “Cut!”, no second tapings, no “Take 2”/clapboard. The actor is stuck on stage, vulnerable, having to think on their feet for a quick fix to get things back on track as best they can. In reality, most plays are so well-rehearsed that this happens at worst once in a rare show, and it’s something as innocuous as a dropped line, a lost prop, or a missed entrance, more of an annoyance that is easily covered and forgotten moments later when the theatrical magic is reconjured. If only the cast of The Cornley University Drama Society’s production of The Murder at Haversham Manor was so lucky.
Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields of Mischief Theatre have collaborated to create the ultimate sendup of backstage mayhem effecting onstage performances. Naturally conjuring comparisons to predecessor Michael Frayn’s brilliant backstage parody Noises Off, another British comedy import that hilariously tells the story of another play gone wrong from the human angle (told in three acts, from the behind schedule final dress rehearsal trying to fix the show, to the backstage drama 6 months later on the road after company members have gotten together, broken up, and become pregnant, to closing night where everyone is so over the show it just falls apart to comic exhaustion.
But Lewis, Sayer, and Shields have taken this premise to the highest comic extremes on steroids. Starting off innocently enough—a jumped light cue that rises on a not-so-dead body taking his place onstage, a faulty door that sticks necessitating creative entrances, a missing prop or two—over the course of the next two hours and 15 minutes creatively inserts virtually every possible mishap that could potentially plague any production at any given moment, one after the other in a hectic debacle brilliantly and fluidly choreographed by director Matt DiCarlo (and set designer Nigel Hook) to razor sharp precision. But these minor mishaps quickly escalate to every imaginable catastrophe—blown lines, visible actors (and techies) offstage, malfunctioning and missing props, actor injuries, unprepared (or nonexistent) understudies thrown in on a moments notice, and a scene-stealing, self-destructing set, to name just a few of the nuisances to decimate the cast of the show within the show—to the point where the entire production, literally, falls to pieces by evenings’ end. The show must go on. The execution of this show’s gradual and constant demise, when one stops to consider how perfectly timed and controlled it actually must be to be so blissfully chaotic, is nothing short of genius.
The entire cast, all veterans of either the New York, Chicago, or previous national tour companies of the show, is on board for the ride of your life with flawless comic (mis?)timing, each bringing their own individual liability to the stage. All deserving mention as elements of a perfectly greased comic machine, the taut ensemble features Joseph Anthony Byrd as the murder victim whose ability to play dead is perpetually tested, Peyton Crim as a hothead whose fuse is constantly being lit, Bradley Booz as a somewhat illiterate butler whose hooked-on-phonics mispronunciations frustrate his scene partners, Mara Davi as the victim’s fiancée, a diva leading lady unwilling to relinquish her spotlight despite multiple onstage and backstage injuries. Alex Mandell as a fresh-faced actor in a dual role as the other man and a gardener with vital information, stops his own show by simultaneously pandering for and delighting in his audience’s favor. And Matt Harrington, as “company president Chris Bean” who also doubles as director of Murder while himself playing the featured inspector called in to solve the case, delightfully copes as his baby disintegrate around him. But actors and their fallibilities aren’t the only ones being skewered. Kai Heath as the stage manager of the disaster who must step in unrehearsed, book in hand, ill-fitting costume and wig on person, for an unconscious leading lady, and Akron Watson as a sound and light man with no patience add unexpected comic hilarity to the insanity unfolding around the show they are supposed to be in control of. There is no standout star here. The entire eight-person company works effortlessly and beautifully together to produce a perfect ensemble salute to the old screwball comedies of yesteryear.
If there ever was a show where production staff deserved equal accolades this is it. Costume Designer Roberto Surace provides appropriately colorful and stagey 20s era fashion for his show on stage. Look for his creative detail: in a pre-show curtain speech, company president Bean (Harrison) mentions that Murder at Haversham Manor is the first time the company has been able to fully cast a show using every possible member—previous productions have included the downscaled Two Sisters and the hit musical Cat (singular), whose logo Surace aquarely places on the backstage black T-shirt worn by Murder’s stage manager Annie Twilloil (Heath). Lighting Designer Jeremy Cunningham turns in deliberately dramatic onstage lighting while naturally lighting backstage areas when they are inappropriately revealed (which is far too often) , based on Ric Mountjoy’s Broadway designs. Beth Lake delivers the flawless sound typical of the Kennedy Center (based on Andrew Johnson’s original Broadway design). But special recognition goes to Nigel Hook whose Tony-winning set actually becomes the 9th character in this farce, and dare I say may be the one who upstages his flawless company of performers. Working with Director DiCarlo (recreating Broadway director Mark Bell’s perfect staging), he produces a hilarious malfunctioning set that continuously crumbles on tight cues perfectly timed with DiCarlo’s game actors executing the most exquisite sequence of comic pratfalls since Peter Bogdonavich’s classic salute to the genre in What’s Up Doc?.
Most theatre fans call this show “the funniest thing they’ve ever seen”, and even some of the most jaded theatre critics agree. But Lewis, Sayer, and Shields haven’t just written a brilliant salute to the classic screwball comedies. They have also created a perfect giftwrap of the show surrounding the show that goes deep into all the encompassing areas.
Advice: arrive early and experience the delightfully immersive pre-show they have created to set up the shenanigans you are about to see onstage. Watch Watson’s lighting and sound designer mingle about the audience complaining about the deficiencies of his technical systems on hand. See Heath’s stage manager desperately attempt to prepare the stage for the evening’s performance of Murder at Haversham Manor, dealing with a faulty mantle piece that requires solutions from gaff tape to an unsuspecting audience member to keep it in place, as well as a missing canine performer (both of which come into play as the production deteriorates on stage). Take some time to explore the incredibly clever program within the program, full of hilarious details starting with the front cover (mocked up to look like an off-set misprint the company had either no time or no funds to correct), and progressing to the bios of the fictional actors in the Cornley University Drama Society company that the cast are playing (all making their “Chicago debut!” in this show, with additional hilarious mock credits), as well as the nods to low budget local theatre everywhere. Like the production credits that show Cornell company president Chis Bean (Harrison) is not only also the director and featured star of the show, he is also the set, costume, and prop designer, box office manager, publicist and marketing manager and every other backstage position necessary to produce a show. Plus, knowing the bios the creators have offered about the fictional actors subtly interpreted by the real actors playing them in the fictional comedy as the real comedy tears it apart……So many layers and details that create an evening of unadulterated belly laughs. Give yourself adequate time to enjoy the multi-leveled experience that this first-rate production team have created for your ultimate entertainment in an evening filled (literally) with knockout, fall down laughs.
All photos are from the Chicago company of The Play That Goes Wrong, courtesy of Jeremy Daniels.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.
The Play That Goes Wrong currently plays through August 13, 2023, at the Eisenhower Theatre at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street NW, Washington DC 20566. For tickets, call the box office at 202.467.4600 or purchase online