Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival Kicks Off The Summer Season With THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival partners with Philadelphia's 1812 Productions to present the smash hit The Play That Goes Wrong as the season opener, playing May 29 through June 16 on the Main Stage at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA.

A farcical murder mystery and a play-within a play, The Play That Goes Wrong played for sold-out audiences on Broadway and in London's West End before Philadelphia's 1812 Productions—the area's sole theater company dedicated to comedy—made its regional sell-out debut at Plays & Players Theatre last year under the helm of 1812's Producing Artistic Director, Jennifer Childs.

Now Childs, and the original cast of Philadelphia's finest and funniest performers, Sean Close, Melanie Cotton, Scott Greer, Justin Jain, Tony Lawton, Eli Lynn, Karen Peakes, and Ian Merrill Peakes, reunite to bring the kinetic mayhem of The Play That Goes Wrong to the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (PSF) stage.

 “At PSF, the expanded space offers more room for improvisation, allowing for surprise appearances and extra action. Audiences seeing this incarnation can look forward to some additional shenanigans,” said Childs. "I am looking forward to hearing the audience's laughter as they experience The Play That Goes Wrong. Right now, more than ever, the world needs more comedy!”

In this hilarious hybrid of Agatha Christie meets Monty Python, The Play That Goes Wrong will have you laughing all the way to the final curtain call. After benefitting from a large and sudden inheritance, the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society embark on producing an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor, where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can't play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), it's "a riotous explosion of comedy" (The Daily Beast) and "tons of fun for all ages" (HuffPost).

Directed by Childs, she brings the same stellar creative team from the Philly production including scenic designer Colin McIlvaine, props designer Liz McDonald, costume designer Janus Stefanowicz, lighting designer Alyssandra Docherty, and sound designer Damien Figueras. Tom Shotkin is the stage manager, and Julia Levis is the assistant stage manager.

Patrons can enhance their experience with show extras including a post-show champagne toast, a Director's Dinner themed to the play, talk-backs with the actors, and an Audio Described and Open Captioned performance. For specific dates and times of all events visit www.pashakespeare.org

The Production Sponsor for the The Play That Goes Wrong is Breslin Architects, and the Co-Sponsors are Mary Bongiorno and Keenan-Nagle Advertising.

The Festival's 2024 Season Sponsors are Lee and Dolly Butz. The Associate Season Sponsors are Linda Lapos and Paul Wirth, Kathleen Kund Nolan and Timothy E. Nolan, the Szarko Family, and Harry C. Trexler Trust.

Tickets can be purchased online at pashakespeare.org, or by calling the box office at 610.282.WILL [9455], ext. 1, or in person at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of DeSales University, in Center Valley.

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, the official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, features acclaimed actors from Broadway, television, and film, and is the summer home to over 200 artists from around the country, including winners and nominees of the Tony, Obie, Emmy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Jefferson, and Barrymore Awards.

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