NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — “The Play That Goes Wrong” first ran on Broadway in 2017 and leaves audiences laughing out loud.
As CBS2’s Dick Brennan reports, the actors are in a play about actors in a play.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” is fall-out funny, a zany, antic-filled farce. This play within a play opens the door on what happens when things don’t go right on stage.
“They’re attempting to put up a murder mystery. It’s opening night, it’s very exciting, it’s very high stakes and, from the get go things aren’t going very well,” actor Matt Harrington said.
“I play Chris Bean, and he is the director of the play,” Harrington said. “He also plays the inspector who shows up to try to solve the mystery. He is not a mellow man… This is his baby. This has to go right for him.”
“I play the actor Robert Grove, who plays the character Thomas Collymore in the murder mystery,” actor Brent Bateman said. “Robert and Chris have a very explosive relationship together. There’s very much a power struggle there.”
For audience members, it pays to pay attention because it doesn’t take long before things go haywire.
“It feels dangerous at times. Things are happening so fast, the play gets loud. There’s a lot of contact. You want to have a lookout, not that you’re in danger, but your senses will be aware that some dangerous things are happening,” Bateman said.
The comedy on stage has to be carefully choreographed to avoid trouble.
“There’s so many ways in which the wrong can go wrong,” Harrington said. “I think this show has called upon more of my training than almost any show I’ve ever done.”
Remember, it’s a play within a play. The set also takes center stage. The furniture and backdrops in Nigel Hook’s Tony Award-winning scenic design are characters too.
“This set gets in the way of us over and over and over again in ways that you can’t imagine,” Bateman said.
“We’re in this period, you know murder mystery, but underneath we’re all like gladiators, we’re all in knee pads and braces, and what I love about the show is that it looks like a murder mystery. It’s actually commedia dell’arte, it’s old Italian clowning,” Harrington said.
The actors said “The Play That Goes Wrong” may seem improvised, but it’s not.
“Some of the moments that seem really loose are actually highly scripted and highly rehearsed for safety,” Bateman said.
Harrington and Bateman were in the show before the COVID pandemic, so stepping back on stage comes with a renewed spirit.
“You’re watching this play and you’re literally watching theater kind of fight for its life and win,” Harrington said.
“Since returning, there’s more weight to the house full of laughing people,” Bateman said.
“Just to hear hundreds of people in a room again, after a year and a half of isolation,” said Harrington, “just laughing ’till they’re crying for two hours, and it just, I get emotional thinking about it now.”
You can see “The Play That Goes Wrong” at New World Stages on West 50th Street. During Off-Broadway Week, you can get 2-for-1 tickets through Feb. 27.
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