The John Brown University’s (JBU) music and theater department will be presenting its very own rendition of Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields’ “The Play That Goes Wrong,” starting Sept. 29. The play has been developed under the direction of JBU associate professor of speech and theater Josiah Wallace, who has been teaching at JBU for six years. The play has been described by technical director and scenic designer Peter Rexford as a “ridiculous, hot mess,” but for all the right reasons.
The production’s plot features a “play within a play” storyline, following a drama society’s attempt at presenting the murder mystery “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” However, as the show progresses, thing after thing appears to go wrong—as the title implies—with props falling out of place or actors saying their lines incorrectly, forgetting them altogether, and even breaking the fourth wall (sometimes quite literally).
What is even more surprising about the play is not just the plot by itself but the amount of planning, designing, and rehearsing that the production required to implement all of these various gimmicks into the show. With only a couple of months to build the sets and about a month to rehearse with a cast almost wholly made up of first-year students, the work done by the cast and crew of the show could be described as nothing less than impressive. The show implements everything from moving sets to complex combinations of lighting and sound that are intended to enhance the audience’s experience while viewing the show.
“We designed two shows, essentially,” described sound designer and composer Tanner Zank when explaining the intricacies of combining such different elements from two separate shows into one.
“We designed a show that the theater company inside the world of the play is putting on, and we also designed the show where things are falling apart. And you have to be really intentional about the difference between the two of those,” Zank said.
The design team of the show, which includes Rexford, stage manager Sherlyn Manning, light designer Andrew Keck, costume designer Ella Fletcher and props designer Nathan Hahn, as well as director Wallace, all collaborated to create a show that feels equally organized and planned out as it feels chaotic.
“I think this play is special because it makes the audience really think about what is actually going on,” said Noelle Hogue, sound cue operator.
The cast of the show also commented about their experiences throughout rehearsals. “You have to learn not to anticipate the bad things that are going to happen and act like it’s all unexpected,” mentioned Mackenzie Wood, who plays the role of crew member Annie on the show.
Other members of the cast also include Micah Madden as Inspector Carter, Benjamin Fulks as Cecil Haversham and Arthur, Andrew Enoch as Thomas Colleymoore, Natasha Sakulyanonvitaya as Florence Colleymoore, Volen Stoyanov as Charles Haversham, Gabe Thomas as Perkins and Josiah Ungos as Trevor.
The cast also commented the following about the play: “It’s dramatic, unexpected, and hilarious, and you should all come watch it.”
JBU’s production of “The Play That Goes Wrong” is set to run on Sept. 29 and 30 and Oct. 6 and 7 at the Berry Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available for purchase at jbu.edu/tickets. JBU students can get tickets for $3, while the general public can acquire them for $15.