PERRY — The Play That Goes Wrong, a lovely farce written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, is delighting audiences since it first debuted in the UK in 2012. Directed by Jed Broberg at the Heritage Theatre in Perry, I was intrigued to see how a small community theatre would take on a show that relies on getting things wrong, yet in a very right way.
The Play That Goes Wrong follows the Cornley Drama Society as they put on their production of The Murder at Haversham Manor. As the production title gives away, plenty can go wrong in a show, and it sure does. The first element of fun with this evening was the announcement, with the sound going fast and then slow, and a number of other amusing intentional little details, showing how “wrong” the play was going. As Chris, played by Brian Wood, begins his speech at the beginning of the show, telling everyone of the way the drama society adjusted their productions to fit a small cast, I smiled at how we all have been a part of a show gone wrong in the past, and what we have had to do to make that show “right” again.
The set, designed by Dave Matthews and Jed Broberg, was absolutely excellent. This type of set is a lot harder to design and construct than the audience may understand just by viewing. It is very hard to have things “go wrong” without harming cast and crew. Doing so on the limited budget that a small theatre like Heritage has done is more impressive. Because I have seen this show everywhere from Broadway to Pioneer to West Valley Arts, I’ve seen a lot of different sets for comparison. Knowing what is coming in a show like this, one can perhaps feel a little underwhelmed. I was glad how with the cleverness of the design as well as the fun way the cast interacted with the set, this production felt fresh and new, rather than just a repeat of previous productions.
The Play that Goes Wrong at Heritage Theatre plays through September 6th, 2025. Photo Credit The Wright Photography.
Chauntelle McAlhany as Annie, the stage manager, was an absolute delight. From her stepping in to be the mantle as it fell apart, to her stepping in to be Florence, I was enamored by her character. I am the younger sister of a theatre teacher and director. I have witnessed the phone calls of “No one tried out for this role, Dad, so please, will you play it?” I have watched people in community theatre go from never wanting to be on stage to fighting for the spotlight. Seeing McAlhany embody that type of humorous character growth was charming and quite personable.
Duncan Christensen as Trevor was also a delight to watch. Caring about his Duran Duran CDs, missing cues, and laughing at his own mishaps felt so realistic. Trevor’s character is also forced into taking a role, and then in watching how well it turns out makes this character another very believable part of the show, and Christensen leaned into the humor and joy of the experience. Alex Patterson as Perkins has some of the best lines in the show, from mispronounced words, to lines written on his hand, to each interaction with his castmates. Each of the cast members really worked well with one another, including the surprise of Rosie as Winston at the end as perhaps the best part of the whole night.
At UTBA we are questioned on several occasions as to our purpose of critiquing community level shows. We know they are not at the “level” of professional shows, but that is precisely what the point and joy of something like The Play That Goes Wrong gets right. As Broberg states in his director’s note, it is the funny little mistakes and the way the cast chooses to overcome them that can make a show memorable. When a company improvises something, like the phone scene in this production, and does so with such humor because the Cornley Drama Society does not have the funding or the prop closet that a Broadway house might have, this scene gets a lot more laughter than what humor might be if we only see perfect and polished productions. Of course, we want to see ourselves and our community improve, and the love of theatre is what makes us want to speak to what is great, and speak about what can and should be done better. The joy of the theatrical mishaps are all a part of the journey, and that is at the heart of The Play That Goes Wrong.
