THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG Comes to Stage West

An unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can't play dead, and actors who trip over everything-what more could go wrong? Plenty, and you'll have a grand time finding out, in the uproarious The Play That Goes Wrong, which begins a 4-week run Thursday, February 16, following its initial run at WaterTower Theatre.

Chris, the long suffering producer/director/company member of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, has tried valiantly for years to produce quality theater with his trusty band of loyal amateurs. Now, miraculously, he has managed to land the group a big-city theater for its thriller "The Murder at Haversham Manor," a country-house whodunit in the classic tradition of Agatha Christie. Will things go smoothly for them? Nope.

Things seem to be on shaky ground right from the beginning, as stagehands are making last minute adjustments during the opening address to the audience. A music CD and a dog are apparently missing, and a mantelpiece falls. And things don't get any better once the play begins. The cast and crew soldier determinedly on, as doors get jammed, actors get trapped, lines get lost, and set pieces fail. In short, it's just what you'd expect from a hilarious, crowd-pleasing, full-on farce!

Director Harry Parker says, "A brilliantly crafted farce is every director's dream, but one that has to be treated with the utmost care and respect! It's our job to make everything 'go wrong,' but in exactly the 'right way.' We are all looking forward to creating hilarity with this spectacularly gifted cast."

"Boy does it hit the funny bone...a rising tide of hysteria" - Time Out (London)

Henry Shields, Henry Lewis, and Jonathan Sayer met while training at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). All core members of Mischief Theatre, they had already worked in comedy together for several years before they started out as a writing team. The three's first piece was The Play That Goes Wrong (winner - Best New Comedy - Olivier Awards and What's On Stage Awards). The show started out on the London and Edinburgh fringe before touring the UK and internationally and then returning to the West End in September 2014, where it is still running. It also played on Broadway and had a US tour in 2018, and has been performed in over 20 other countries around the world. Peter Pan Goes Wrong was the trio's second piece, opening in November 2014 for a UK tour before a hugely successful West End season in Christmas 2015. Henry, Henry, and Jonathan recently adapted the script of Peter Pan Goes Wrong for the BBC, which was filmed with the original West End cast and broadcast to rave reviews on New Year's Eve. They were invited back to wreak more havoc at the BBC in 2017 with Christmas Carol Goes Wrong on BBC1. The Comedy About A Bank Robbery marks their third writing project as a trio and earned them another Olivier Nomination. @mischiefcomedy and mischieftheatre.co.uk

The Play That Goes Wrong will be directed by Harry Parker, whose directorial credits at Stage West include last season's On the Exhale. The cast features Mark Shum, Stage West's Managing Director, who appeared recently at Stage West as Stuart in Into the Breeches!, as Dennis, Parker Gray, last at Stage West as Michael in An Act of God, as Chris, Alison Whitehurst, seen at Stage West as Amalia in She Loves Me, as Sandra, Zak Reynolds, previously an ensemble member in Stage West's She Loves Me, as Max, and Francisco Grifaldo, who played Romeo in Stage West's abridged Romeo and Juliet for Bass Hall's outreach program, as Trevor. Making their Stage West debuts are Hannah Bell as Annie, Drew Denton as Jonathan, and Blake Henri as Robert. Serving as understudies are Micah Brooks, Christina Cranshaw, and Mitchell Stephens, last in Stage West's presentation of Prism Movement Theatre's Everything Will Be Fine.

Set design is by Bryan Stevenson, with lighting design by Aaron Johansen, costume design by Aaron Patrick DeClerk, sound design by Emilee Biles, fight choreography by Mitchell Stephens, dialect coordination by Christina Cranshaw, and props and set décor by Lynn Lovett. The production team also includes Production Stage Manager Christopher Treviño and Assistant Directors Alejandro Saucedo, Christina Cranshaw, and Mitchell Stephens.

The Play That Goes Wrong will move from its WaterTower run to Stage West with previews Thursday, February 16 at 7:30 and Friday, February 17 at 8:00, and will run through Sunday, March 12. The opening night reception will be after the evening performance on Saturday, February 18. Additional performances will be Wed, Feb 22, Sat, Feb 25, Wed, Mar 1, Sat, Mar 4, Wed, Mar 8, and Sat, Mar 11. Performance times will be Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7:30, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00. Masks are recommended, but not required at this time. Ticket prices are $40 on Thursdays and Fridays, and $45 on Saturdays and Sundays, with $20 tickets for the two preview performances. Food service is available 90 minutes prior to performances (reservations are advised). Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.

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