Reviews: The Play That Goes Wrong (High School Edition) at Centreville High School
Written by Caroline Wright of Westfield High School
It was a dark and stormy night. The sound of thunder echoes throughout an elegant manor. But wait - was it thunder? Or the walls of the set crashing to the ground? With a colorful cast of characters persisting through broken backdrops, unexpected understudies, and leads losing consciousness, Centreville High School's production of The Play That Goes Wrong: High School Edition was the perfect embodiment of "the show must go on!"
The Play That Goes Wrong was written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. The show premiered at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury in 2012, ran on and off Broadway, and went on to win Best Scenic Design of a Play at the 2017 Tony Awards. The Play That Goes Wrong was adapted for high schools in 2021. This chaotic show-within-a-show follows an amateur acting troop called the Cornley Drama Society, who are attempting to perform "Murder at Haversham Manor" - a traditional, chilling, and scandalous murder mystery. However, an onslaught of unexpected technical troubles and acting errors make for comedic catastrophe.
Jules Couch played Rachel Grove, the member of the drama society playing Mary Colleymoore. Couch portrayed Rachel/Mary's spiraling character arc, from her attempts to remain composed at the first sign of mishaps, to reaching her breaking point during her dramatic death scene at the climax of the chaos. Makena Nelson played the society's director Christine Bean, who played Inspector Carter, displaying incredibly high energy and over-exaggerated personality traits that allowed her to take control after every new discovery. Asher Galbis-Doucette portrayed actor Max Bennett, who played Cecil Haversham, with animated physicality choices such as standing on furniture that made it clear that his character wanted to be the center of attention. Kylie Henryhand played actor Sandra Wilkinson, who played Florence Colleymoore, with consistent frazzled energy to depict her character's distraught demeanor.
Hannah Smith played the society's stage manager, Annie, who had to temporarily take over the role of Florence after Sandra gets hit in the head by a haphazard door. Smith showed how Annie went from quiet and horrified at the idea of acting, to fully letting-loose and screaming at the top of their lungs when they performed one of Florence's hysterical episodes. Drew Sidwell portrayed actor Dennis Tyde, who played the butler, Perkins, with expert comedic timing through over-the-top reactions, bouts of clumsiness, and intentionally-flubbed lines. The Cornley Drama Society stage crew (Juan Medrano, Tara Katchuk, and Lyla Groneman) captivated the audience through creative improvisation and seemingly-genuine frantic responses to every technical mishap.
Behind the scenes, the real tech crew was hard at work making each aspect of the production run smoothly. From a falling mantlepiece, to a spinning bookcase, to every wall clattering to the floor one by one, the sets team (Joshua Reyes, Aymery Welch, Callaghan Crofton, and Khloe Moon) created scenery that was full of surprises. The costumes crew (Katie McCoy, Quinn Lenoir, and Evan DuBell) mixed historically accurate and stereotypical 1920s fashion trends to depict the Cornley Drama Society's unpreparedness. They also designed and printed a custom logo on the stage crew characters' T-shirts, created two identical dresses for the actors playing Annie and Sandra (who both played Florence), and constructed Rachel (Mary)'s dress from scratch. The Play That Goes Wrong Marketing Team created a heartwarming show trailer, stylized Instagram posts, and advertisements around the school and community, all utilizing a consistent black, white, and red color scheme.
With all of the commitment and creativity from the cast and crew, Centreville High School's theatre department proved that you can still put on an amazing play, even when things go wrong.
Written by Abby Marroquin of West Springfield High School
Places, everyone! The curtain is almost- wait, who's unconscious? Ah well, it's probably not important- Welcome to The Play That Goes Wrong: High School Edition at Centreville High School!
The Play That Goes Wrong was originally written by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer and premiered on the West End in 2012. After premiering on Broadway, the show quickly became a fan favorite, and even won a Tony for Best Scenic Design.
Set on the night of Cornley Drama Society's production of "The Murder at Haversham Manor", this "play-within-a-play" follows a chaotic and catastrophically comedic theatre troupe as they attempt to navigate through a... not-so-perfect performance filled to the brim with forgotten lines, a misplaced pooch, and an abundance of slapstick satire. In the midst of a play that quite literally falls apart, the actors of Cornley Drama Society scramble to piece together their production until the final bow. After all, there were only a few "minor" snags and hey, the show must go on!
From a commanding opening monologue, to expertly integrated audience interaction, Makena Nelson's Christine Bean (playing Inspector Carter) captured the attention of the entire audience with excellent vocal enunciation. Nelson consistently kept the audience engaged with bold and overdramatic physicality that elevated the satirical nature of the production, and seamlessly utilized high energy to portray a director's descent into desperate madness in a final attempt to salvage her show.
The wacky ensemble of actors was certainly unforgettable, each with their own unique temperament and comedic flair. Excellently complementing each other with cohesively chaotic physical comedy and entertaining reactions, there was never a dull moment to look at on stage.
A standout performance was that of Drew Sidwell's Dennis Tyde (playing Perkins), who left the audience howling in their seats due to his genuine portrayal of his personal mishaps. Specifically notable was the running gag of Dennis mispronouncing common words and progressively intensifying his irritation with each small correction.
On the other side of the set, the humorous charm of the play would not be as heightened without the Stage Crew Ensemble (Juan Medrano, Tara Katchuk, Lyla Groneman) whose subdued comedy balanced out the extremity of the Acting Ensemble in every way. Even without scripted dialogue, the Stage Crew had the audience chuckling with every throw of "snow" or rush to fix the current mishap at hand, tying together the hilarity throughout both acts.
The expertly constructed set, perfectly imperfect, was built by Joshua Reyes, Aymery Welch, Callaghan Crofton, and Khloe Moon. Literally falling apart, this character-in-itself set established the precarious tone of the play from the very moment the audience steps into the auditorium. An impressive feature of this set were the walls, which not only collapsed in their entirety at the end of the second act, but also served as a comedic vessel, when a stage crew member stuck their hands through the wallpaper to "become" the mantle.
The tech of the play was extremely cohesive, and the lights were no exception. Designed and executed by Aymery Welch and Connor Newland, the lighting expertly tied the comedy of the mishaps together. A consistently entertaining example is that of poorly lighting the ensemble during intense dramatic moments, backlit with red.
Dodging falling furniture, fighting for the spotlight, and going out with a bang, The Play That Goes Wrong: High School Edition showed the audience that perfection isn't everything, but rather that imperfection can be flawlessly hilarious itself. However, if there's one way to face catastrophe, you might as well face it with unwavering confidence.