It’s opening night for the Cornley Drama Society’s production of The Murder at Haversham Manor, and the troupe of amateur actors is as ready as they will ever be — which is not very. With hopes high and set construction low, they take to the stage, but their dreams of a perfect performance are soon dashed as one thing after another goes terribly and hilariously wrong. The earnest actors try desperately to stay in character, but from missed cues to broken props, the evening soon tumbles into a relentless comedy of errors. Channeling the physical stylings of Monty Python with the spontaneity of Saturday Night Live, The Play That Goes Wrong — by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields and directed by Frank D. Shutts II for the Little Theatre of Alexandria — is a delightfully chaotic farce full to the brim with laughs, gasps, and grins.
Leading the community troupe was the Cornley Drama Society’s director and the production’s Inspector Carter, Chris Bean, played by LTA’s Adam R. Adkins. Tightly wound and even higher strung, Adkins’ Chris became synonymous with frustration and exasperation within the show as his directorial debut imploded in spectacular fashion. Determined to maintain control, no matter the chaos, Adkins’ Chris and Inspector were twitchy and very flappable.
Trying desperately and creatively to keep the show going as though nothing was wrong were Robert Grove as Thomas Colleymoore, played by Justin Beland, and Dennis Tyde as Perkins the butler, played by William Wheat. Often sharing the stage together, these two had an entertaining way of playing off one another to find that challenging balance of being a good bad actor. Beland brought a huge presence on stage with gumption to spare and preferred to solve problems with strength and physicality. Wheat locked into the timidity of Dennis and gave a stumbly, stuttery Perkins performance that smoothly grew with confidence over the course of the show, nicely matching his (double) character’s sense of confidence and ownership of the stage.
A huge fan of the spotlight and melodramatic overacting from the very beginning was Sandra Wilkinson as Florence Colleymoore, played by Suzy Alden. With all the exaggerated movements of a soap opera drama queen, Alden’s Florence/Sandra refused to be upstaged and would do anything to keep the spotlight squarely on her. Equally motivated by praise and attention was Max Bennett as Cecil Haversham and Arthur the Gardener, played by Cameron McBride. Easily excitable and willing to ham up anything for audience approval, all of McBride’s characters had a constant impish smirk on their face, thrilled to be noticed and more than willing to go off script to get just a little bit more laughter.
Similarly a fan of playing things up was Jonathan Harris as Charles Haversham (the corpse), played by Andy Izquierdo. Entirely focused on playing dead the best he could, Izquierdo brought a cool, dignified poise to his corpse. He also amusingly stole focus as Jonathan Harris in more than a few unexpected “behind-the-scenes” moments and was comically over-eager to bring the play within the play to its conclusion.
Stepping into entirely unforeseen and absolutely wild situations were Annie Twilloil, a Stage Manager turned emergency actress, played by Sydné Marie Chesson, and Trevor Watson, a Tech Operator reluctantly dragged onstage, played by Jermaine Mitchell. Both layered into the backstage comedy two productions’ worth of ridiculousness simultaneously. Chesson, in particular, showcased Annie on her journey from stage fright to stage love. Slowly gaining confidence through each monotone line, Chesson’s Annie was ultimately bursting with enough joy that it was impossible for her to suppress a smile, even as she battled for her place in the show.
Quite literally responsible for making everything go correctly wrong was the production’s creative team. Front and center was the elaborate and reliably unreliable set by Dan Deisz, Dan Remmers, and Jim Hutzler. Meticulously designed and executed with quirks and defects revealing themselves at every turn, the set is the unsung hero — and active antagonist — of the show. The direction by Frank D. Shutts II and fight direction by Ian Claar orchestrated an energetic swirl of activity as the actors tried to save their opening night. Lighting design by Ken and Patti Crowley and sound design by Alan Wray took equal measure in finding creative ways to go wrong or be bad — from missed cues to incorrect spots. Add in the dialect coaching by Carol Strachan, costume design by Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley, and hair and makeup design by Natalie Turkovich, and this show-within-a-show had all the absurd layerings of earnestly amateurish shenanigans.
Playing through June 28, The Play That Goes Wrong at the Little Theatre of Alexandria is a fast-paced whirlwind of chaos that will keep you laughing at the absurdity, gasping at the physical gags and surprises, and smiling at the creativity it takes to be oh-so-very bad on purpose. A sturdily executed portrayal of a disastrously unstable performance, it is also a celebration of all sides of live theater and the enduring resilience of the arts. Especially now with a world that feels like a play going wildly off-script, this beautiful mess is also the perfect comedic release for our DMV community — and a reminder that no matter what, the show must go on.
Running Time: Approximately two hours, with a 15-minute intermission.
The Play That Goes Wrong plays through June 28, 2025 (Thursdays–Saturdays at 8 pm, Sunday matinees at 2 pm), at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA. To purchase tickets ($29, reserved seating), go online or contact the Box Office via phone (703-683-0496) or email ([email protected]).
The program for The Play That Goes Wrong is downloadable here.
The Play That Goes Wrong
Written by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields & Jonathan Sayer
Produced by Russell M. Wyland and Zell Murphy
Directed by Frank D. Shutts II