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Edited and Published by Robert W. McDowell

September 15, 2022 Issue
PART 5 (September 15, 2022)

A FREE Weekly E-mail Newsletter Covering Theater, Dance, Music, and Film in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill/Carrboro Area of North Carolina Since April 2001.

PART 5A: TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW BY SUSIE POTTER

Theatre Raleigh Strikes Comedic Gold
with The Play That Goes Wrong

Every actor (and every avid theatergoer) knows that things don't always go according to plan. Sometimes, there's a missed cue or a forgotten line. But, what if absolutely everything that could go wrong does? That's the impetus behind Theatre Raleigh's aptly named The Play That Goes Wrong, directed to hilarious perfection by Tim Seib.

In this play-within-a-play, a bumbling theater group with a perfectly pompous director/actor (Happy Mahaney) has chosen to put on (or to attempt to put on) The Murder at Haversham Manor, an over-the-top whodunnit. The plot of the mystery may be simple, but nothing else is.

Over the course of two hilarious hours, doors stick, set pieces fall apart, and props don't stay put. That's not all either. Actors get injured and have to be replaced. The butler, Perkins (Liam Yates), can't pronounce anything correctly ... or remember his lines.

Even better, some of the actors get absolutely starstruck. Max (Jeff Ronan), in particular, can't get over the attention and laughter that he garners from the audience, causing him to break into big grins and overact. In fact, even though the entire actual cast is loaded with talent, Ronan stands out for the twinkle in his eye and his absolute commitment to his character-within-a-character.


Theatre Raleigh will present The Play That Goes Wrong on Sept. 14-18 and 21-25 (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

Khalil LeSaldo also does a stellar job as the can't-stay-dead, cue-missing Jonathan/Charles; and Nat M. Sherwood adds to the fun as Annie, a last-minute replacement actor who ends up getting a little too into her understudy status.

As this raucous romp progresses, the casualties multiply and get more and more ridiculous. However, the smart writing enables viewers to believe every single minute. In fact, the opening-night audience gave helpful hints to the struggling "actors" and made sympathetic sounds as new disasters befell them. Of course, this was in between the uproarious and well-deserved laughter that permeated every moment.

Despite all the laughs, it's overwhelmingly obvious that a great amount of effort went into this production. To produce a play where everything goes wrong, everything has to go right. One actual missed cue or wrong placement could spell real disaster, but director Tim Seib has directed and staged this masterpiece to utter perfection.


Theatre Raleigh will present The Play That Goes Wrong on Sept. 14-18 and 21-25 (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

Chris Bernier's magnificent, functional set makes everything possible. At first glance, it's beautifully designed, intricate, and simple; yet it holds a lot of secrets and surprises. The basic design completely belies everything the set, which is practically a character in its own right, will have to do over the course of the evening.

Ironically, this humorous look at awful play production is a lesson in perfection. It offers truly Broadway-level production value right here in the Raleigh area. But to be honest, most viewers won't be thinking about any of that, at least while the show is going on. Instead, they'll be too busy dying from laughter.

With this gem, Theatre Raleigh has achieved one of the most important aims of theater: sparking joy. And, in a post-COVID world, it's exactly what audiences need. The only real tragedy is that the production ends on Sunday, Sept. 25th; and once word gets out, it's sure to sell out fast. Luckily, tickets are still available here.


Theatre Raleigh will present The Play That Goes Wrong on Sept. 14-18 and 21-25 (photo by Jennifer Robertson Photography)

Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields' THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (In Person at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15-18 and 21-25), directed by Tim Seib and starring Shayla Spradley, Jeff Ronan, Khalil LeSaldo, Shannon Michael Wamser, Liam Yates, Nat M. Sherwood, Mac McGill, Jess Barbour, Khoa Pham, Happy Mahaney, and Greg Laux (Theatre Raleigh at the Theatre Raleigh Arts Center at 6638 Old Wake Forest Rd. in Raleigh). TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPpY0KXgWqY. VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBrPHqUNhtfRMWQ2Ej8Fxeg. 2022 MAIN-STAGE SEASON: https://theatreraleigh.com/2022-main-stage-season/. THE PRESENTER/VENUE: https://theatreraleigh.com/, https://www.facebook.com/TheatreRaleigh, https://www.instagram.com/theatre_raleigh/, https://twitter.com/theatreraleigh, and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBrPHqUNhtfRMWQ2Ej8Fxeg. DIRECTIONS/PARKING: https://theatreraleigh.com/location-parking/. COVID REQUIREMENTS: https://theatreraleigh.com/covid-19-updates/. THE PLAY: https://www.mischiefcomedy.com/our-work/the-play-that-goes-wrong/about, https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/the-play-that-goes-wrong-511409, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Play_That_Goes_Wrong. THE SCRIPT (excerpts): https://books.google.com/books. TICKETS: $30-$45, plus taxes and fees. Click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: 919-832-9997, info@theatreraleigh.com, or boxoffice@theatreraleigh.com. PLEASE DONATE TO: Theatre Raleigh. Robert O'Connell's Review.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Susie Potter is a Raleigh, NC-based freelance writer and editor. She is a 2009 graduate of Raleigh's Meredith College, where she majored in English. She holds graduate degrees in teaching and American literature from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. She is an award-winning author of short fiction. Her works have appeared in The Colton Review, Raleigh Quarterly, Broken Plate Magazine, Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley, the Chaffey Review, and Existere. To read more of Susie Potter's writings, click http://www.triangleartsreview.com/, http://www.susiepotter.com, and http://www.myspace.com/susiepotter.

 


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