The wildly popular Goes Wrong Show series (and the Peter Pan Goes Wrong Broadway show) started out as a single play called The Play That Goes Wrong. I’ve seen every Goes Wrong episode as well as the Broadway show (on TV; don’t get excited), although I’ve never seen the original play that started it all. So I was super excited to hear that the Osceola Arts was going to be doing the Play That Goes Wrong right there in Kissimmee, Florida.
I also knew this was going to be a big lift — my wife hates when I say that — for any cast because the originals set the bar so high. It’s sort of like doing all of Monty Python’s greatest sketches: you’re going to be judged based on the originals, and it’s going to be tough. So I wasn’t sure what I was going to expect when I attended opening night on Friday, June 14.
I didn’t need to worry, because the show was amazing. Literally one of the very funniest shows I’ve ever seen, and my face hurt from laughing so hard when it was over. I didn’t even leave for intermission because I didn’t want to miss anything.
The show opened before it actually opened, with stage manager Annie and lighting/sound tech Trevor (Megan Borkes and Clarissa Moon) setting up the show and getting things ready. Annie was installing a fireplace mantle and yelling at Max (Michael Knight) to get dressed, evenas he was chatting with people in the audience, trying to find a missing dog. Trevor was searching for her missing ABBA CD box set and even asked the audience to keep an eye out for it.
As Annie is putting on the last minute touches, Chris (Jason Blackwater) is telling Annie to tell the cast “Five minutes” because there are ten minutes before the show starts. In a very who’s-on-first exchange, Chris and Annie go back and forth about how “ten minutes to go” means “five minutes” and “five minutes to go” means “places.”
Eventually, the mantle is installed, only to fall off, so Annie grabs the entire mess and hands it to an audience member sitting near the stage.
From there, the play within the play we’re supposed to see — Murder at Haversham Manor — is underway. And everything that can go wrong does. Spectacularly.
We open (again) on Charles Haversham who is discovered in his study, dead. Murdered. But whodunnit?
Inspector Cramer (Chris/Blackwater) makes his way through the ferocious winter storm and arrives to investigate Charles death. Since everyone is snowed in, he is presented with four suspects: Florence Colleymore (Sandra/Hannah McGinley Lemasters), Thomas Colleymore (Robert/Trevor Spence), Perkins the Butler (Denise/Katy Williams) and the deceased’s brother, Cecil Haversham (Max/Michael Knight).
(Fans of the show will recognize the hapless Dennis has been replaced by the hapless Denise. I loved the casting choice, and Katy played the role perfectly.)
As things fall off the wall or people get injured, the cast carries on, trying desperately to pretend that everything is alright, including answering a phone that’s six feet away, Thomas writing a man’s name in a notebook with a pen between his toes because he and Cecil are holding props up against a wall, or pretending the entire floor isn’t falling out from underneath you.
As the play progresses and the stage falls apart, you can never be sure if these are really intentional, or did something actually go wrong. (There are YouTube videos of the original cast talking about things that actually went wrong in the middle of their performances.)
As the play continues, we learn that Florence and Cecil have been having an affair, that Thomas has had £9,000 stolen from his bank, and that something strange is afoot between Thomas and Inspector Carter.
Even worse, Cecil has been murdered off-stage, only to wander onstage, mug it up for the audience, and fall dead on the chaise longue (Not chaise lounge; it’s French.) with bloody bullet holes taped to his back.
(Max is new to the theatre and constantly plays to the audience, grinning anytime he does something, desperately seeking their approval.)
As we continue, Florence is knocked out when she stands behind a door that opens suddenly. Stage manager Annie is forced to step in, donning Florence’s red dress over her tool belt, roll of duct tape still swinging from its clip. She’s petrified as she reads from the script — at one point calling Cecil “Kessel” — as she slowly becomes more and more comfortable until she realizes she loves acting and throws herself into the role of Florence #2 with all her heart.
Until she’s knocked out by the very same door that took out Florence.
Trevor is now forced to step into Florence’s role, until she’s knocked out by a collapsing stage and both Annie and Sandra both return, each fighting (literally) to play Florence.
The mystery is eventually solved, there’s a surprise twist at the end, and everyone nearly dies as the cast goes thundering onward to the end of the show, hoping to make it before the roof caves in.
I have to give special recognition to Waylon Lemasters, the set designer, who created a gorgeous set, complete with a second level to represent a second floor. It’s been years since I’ve seen a proper theater set, having seen so many black box theatre productions and minimalist set designs, and it was very comforting to see. It took me back to my own high school theater days. It really was a gorgeous stage — too bad it got destroyed.
Throughout the show, the second floor platform begins to collapse, after Max (now playing Arthur the Gardener) knocks out and throws away the support post. Chris and Robert (Inspector Carver and Thomas) are on the tilting platform, clinging desperately to anything they can, all while keeping a desk, chair, and a hollow globe that holds liquor from sliding off and crashing onto the stage below.
The second floor actually tipped lower and lower three different times, which spoke highly of Wayne Lemaster’s design and building capabilities. The cast seemed to trust in the construction, even though there were no safety rails; it was just brute strength that kept the furniture from sliding off.
(I read an online comment from someone who saw the show in Birmingham, England and said that the second floor actually did collapse and people really did fall, which delayed the show by 30 minutes.)
The standout performances for me were Michael Knight and Clarissa Moon (Max and Trevor, Arthur and Florence #3). Their scene together really gave them a chance to show off their comedic talents. Everyone on the entire cast was entirely hilarious, and I loved all of them — they gave the original cast a run for their money. But Michael’s and Clarissa’s comedic instincts made their scene one of my favorites.
My only complaint with the entire show were the two couples on either side of me who continued to whisper to each other about what was happening on stage. The husband would loud-whisper to his wife, “He has to hold it up!” or “It’s empty!” as if she was blind and needed someone to provide audio descriptions. Or the wife would repeat a particularly funny line, as if her husband hadn’t been sitting next to her the entire time. They continued this even after being shushed three times.
Look, people, you’re not at home watching television, you’re sitting inches away from several other people and we can all hear you. I thought this kind of poor theatre etiquette only happened at high school productions.
Any worries I had about the show struggling to match the genius and energy of the Goes Wrong shows were dispelled in the first 30 seconds, before the show even officially started. It had the entire audience laughing hysterically, me included, with nary a break. I honestly have not laughed so much and so often at a single play that I would go back every night if I could.
This is absolutely a must-see for anyone who loves comedy or loves the entire Goes Wrong series.
Cast and crew
- Chris/Insepctor Carter: Jason Blackwater
- Annie/Stage Manager/Florence #2: Megan Borkes
- Max/Cecil Haversham/Arthur the Gardener: Michael Knight
- Jonathan/Charles Haversham: Patrick Kramer
- Sandra/Florence Colleymore: Hannah McGinley Lemasters
- Trevor/Florence #3: Clarissa Moon
- Robert/Thomas Colleymore: Trevor Spence
- Denise/Perkins the Butler: Katy Willians
What: Osceola Arts’ production of The Play That Goes Wrong
Where: Osceola Arts, 2411 East Irlo Bronson Highway, Kissimmee, FL 34744
When: June 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 2024 at 7:30PM, June 9, 2025 at 2:00pm
Running time: Two hours, 30 minutes (one 15-minute intermission).
Tickets: $30 General Admission, $25 for students and seniors
Call: 407-846-6257
Online: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36632/production/1160948
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