Got Yer Ticket?

Why, you might ask, would anybody want to see a play that goes wrong?

I can think of a few reasons.

1. Do you like to laugh? In 2014, when The Play that Goes Wrong opened in London’s Duchess Theatre, critic Tim Walker of The Telegraph gave the play four out of five stars. He called it “a great-looking, brilliantly performed piece,” and stated, “I have seldom, if ever, heard louder or more sustained laughter in a theatre.”

2. Do you like to support local theatre? The Prairie Players are bringing this hilarious play to life on the stage of the William Glesby Centre, with director Avery Griffiths and a combination of new and veteran local actors: Randy Lilley, Alanna Downey, Cullen Yeates, Laurel Giesbrecht, Lisa Marie Tessier-Burch, Ethan Hoekstra, Justin Fry, and Sandy Blight. With a team like that, it’s sure to be a winner.

3: Could you use a night out? You can choose from four nights, Wednesday through Saturday, November 22-25 inclusive.

As you probably already guessed, The Play that Goes Wrong is a play-within-a-play, called “the funniest play Broadway has ever seen” by The Huffington Post.

It’s opening night of a classic murder mystery called The Murder at Haversham Manor. Before the curtain even rises, trouble befalls the production. Things quickly snowball from bad to disastrous. Although certainly not the first play of this nature—or even the first our local troupe has tackled—this one promises to keep you guessing, smiling, and telling your friends.

Then again, if you’re not sure you’d enjoy an abundance of disasters befalling the cast and crew, if you don’t find sticking doors, falling props, or collapsing floors funny, this play may not be for you. If you think forgotten lines, missing cues, and breaking character are all part and parcel of an ordinary community theatre production, you may assume this is simply one more. If mispronounced words don’t raise a chuckle, stay home and watch the news where they always get it correct. If an actor getting knocked unconscious and being replaced by a stagehand who refuses to yield the role back to the actor upon her recovery doesn’t tickle your funny bone, you may find yourself sitting stoically in your seat.

I do hope that wasn’t a spoiler.

I know one thing. Deliberately getting a play wrong takes even more determination, more rehearsal, and more comedic timing than getting it right. I’ll be there, cheering on the cast and crew who are working so diligently to get this play that goes wrong just right.

The Play That Goes Wrong was written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields of Mischief Theatre Company, and all three playwrights acted in its first production. It won Best New Comedy at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards.

Don’t miss it!