THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG Could Have Gone Better at The Ruth

PLEASANT GROVE – The Play That Goes Wrong is part of the inaugural season at the new Ruth and Nathan Hale Lindsay Legacy Theater. Brilliantly written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, the Ruth’s production is directed by beloved local director Barta Heiner. The Lindsay Legacy theater is the smaller of the two spaces at the Ruth and is an intimate and comfortable space, reminiscent of the size and shape of the old Orem Hale. The new and spacious seating feels like a huge upgrade from the previous theatre, while at the same time appearing much sparser. For larger patrons like myself, the inclusion of extra wide seats scattered throughout the house is impactful in its inclusivity, making it a much more comfortable experience.

The Play that Goes Wrong is a “play within a play” at a small community theatre, where all the things that can go wrong in live theatre, do. This hilarious and challenging script requires total commitment to the mediocrity and melodrama of the “play within the play,” as well as precise comedic timing. This delicate balance between the extremely fast paced script and the timing of comedic deliveries can often prove testing for a company. While The Ruth’s production is fun and even really funny at times, the company ultimately ends up missing a lot of comic opportunities.

Please note: This show is double cast. I saw the Monday/Wednesday/Friday cast.

As mentioned earlier, the show keeps up a very fast pace. For this particular production, however, the pace quickly becomes problematic throughout the production. The cast seems to steamroll over funny bits, especially character entrances. This was the unfortunate case for the entrance of Chad Brown who plays Charles/Jonathan. Similarly, there is a running joke of spit takes throughout the first half of the show that ultimately culminates in a hilarious loop of spit takes. This occurs just prior to intermission, and while I could see the potential for a hilarious end of Act One, the cast struggles to land the jokes because of their heightened pace. The script in Act Two becomes more confusing with the missed set-ups in the first act, unfortunately losing the momentum of the jokes in the show. 

With that being said, there are multiple highlights to the cast. Annie, played by Darci Ramirez, adequately portrays her character’s transition from awkward stage hand to wannabe diva. Trevor, played by Luke Logan is likewise earnest as the sound technician (also turned reluctant understudy), but could be improved with more larger than life choices. Logan’s Trevor is almost too nice and insufficiently jaded, such that the bits where he interrupts and even sabotages moments of the show with spiteful sound cues are not as convincing as they could be. Brett Jamison as Max/Cecil also feels right on the cusp of nailing the jokes in each of his scenes. With the confidence to embrace more of these comedic opportunities, Jamison can soar.

While this choice by the director to create more well-rounded characters might be deliberate for this production, it struggles to bring the slapstick comedy to life. However, there are some moments where the entire cast seems in harmony to bring the funny. For example, when Brown as Charles walks his own murdered corpse off the stage, only to return and grab a sheet of fabric to hide his exit behind, is hysterical. The moment when Samuel Wright, as Inspector Carter, takes his time climbing down from the platform where Thomas/Flint is fully engulfed in a piece of furniture is absolutely riotous. Similarly, when Wright breaks character to chastise the audience for giving him direction is delightful.

The cast overall is clearly quite competent, as is the director, and the production has the potential to really nail the comedy—if they’re willing to boldly lean into the absurdity, and find the moments that need to be slowed down and milk them for all they’re worth. This is something that is definitely still improvable as the run progresses.

On the technical side, costume designer Kim Wright uses bright colors and patterns to bring these comedic characters to life. Cecil’s blue pinstripe suit and gorgeous red wing-tips are particularly show-stealing. Wright’s designs exemplify the characters in their journeys throughout the “play within a play,” adeptly handling many levels of storytelling within her designs. On a similar note, the lighting design by Michael Gray also expertly accentuates the comedy. With misplaced spotlights and dramatic red-washes at the mention of murder, Gray shines with his lighting design.

The set is its own character in this play and requires creativity to design and execute well, such that all the things that go wrong are convincing. Jason Baldwin’s design was adequate, using the small thrust stage well, with a large upstage wall serving as the backdrop for the manor. An impressive elevator built onstage serves as a side-splitting gag of stuck characters. However, the set design varies in functional effectiveness. For example, the upstairs office platform is an important space in the script, and is necessarily a small, awkward space. However, Baldwin’s upper platform is just too small even for the necessarily cramped staging that goes on there. Similarly, during the sword fight, the swords become impinged in the set, yet the actors struggle to find the exact place in the set to “accidentally” get stuck. While these snags in the production distracted from the reality of the play, the comfort of the actors within the set will likely only increase. 

Although this production of The Play that Goes Wrong did leave me wanting more humor, especially from this talented cast and crew, I did also have an enjoyable evening. The show has a lot of funny moments, but there is a lot that I feel was left on the table, making it not as funny as it might have been, or might yet become as the run progresses. I hope that the timing issues were just a product of opening night nerves and a need for more time to settle in and get comfortable with having an audience. It has a long run in front of it. I do recommend going (if only for the comfortable seats)—but maybe later in the run. I have confidence that it’s a production that will only get better and better.