Before the play opens – certain members of the audience are quietly asked if they had, by chance, seen a lost dog?
We’re thinking, okay, must be some service dog. Some mighty dog that promises not to bark because plays at the Ahmanson are always perfectly executed and nothing should, or would ever disturb the actors… either way, we hope they find the poor pooch.
Well, the dog is never found. We know this because during the play an hour later, there’s a hysterical actor improvising, making dog barks while holding an empty leash, upon which the missing dog should have been attached.
Why let a missing dog ruin the scene when there are perfectly good actors capable of improving right?
Forced and unexpected improvisation is a recurring theme in The Play That Goes Wrong. The hilarious Tony Award-winning hit Broadway comedy is now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre through August 11, 2019.
Co-written by Mischief Theatre company members Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, “The Play That Goes Wrong” is a riotous pun on theater when the famed “Cornley University Drama Society” attempts to over thespianize a successful 1920s murder mystery despite a court decision by Murphy’s law and having to put their very lives on the line.
Seems there’s been a disconnect between highly incompetent set designers and the play’s brilliantly ego driven stage performers as they try their best to carry out a play, act by act, seamlessly while keeping their egos and integrities in tact.
Falling apart at the seams; the actors, the set, the lines, and the plot. But, who cares? The audience stays in stitches as it all gets jumbled together in a mix of laughs, crime dramas, slapstick comedy and good old fashion whisky drinking.
Wait, that’s not whisky it’s turpentine. But drink it anyway, the crowd must not know and the show must go on.
The tour features Scott Cote as Dennis, Peyton Crim as Robert, Brandon J. Ellis as Trevor, Angela Grovey as Annie, Ned Noyes as Max, Jamie Ann Romero as Sandra, Evan Alexander Smith as Chris and Yaegel T. Welch as Jonathan. The cast also features Blair Baker, Jacqueline Jarrold, Sid Solomon and Michael Thatcher.
Give them a hand. They all managed to get the final bow, to a standing ovation down perfect!
Tickets on sale now at: centertheatregroup.org
