'The Play that Goes Wrong' filled with comedy
Oct. 6—Muskogee Little Theatre performers want things to go right in their latest production "The Play that Goes Wrong," even if that means things must go wrong.
The comedy, which seeks to bring laughter out of calamity, runs this weekend and next at MLT.
"The leading character is the set," director Doobie Potter said. "Then everybody else should be cast after that."
The play is about a community theater group presenting a murder mystery set in 1922 England.
"Everybody's got their lines memorized, they're ready to go, and then things start to go wrong," Potter said. "They're just trying to do the play as written because those are the lines they memorized. No matter what goes wrong, they're just trying to do their part."
This places an added duty on the MLT actors playing the play actors.
"The actors need to practice with all the tricks and be at the right place at the right time, so there's no injuries," she said. "It really involves a lot of physical theater, and that's my forte. These actors have been willing to do anything I ask them to do physically. They're all bruised up, but they're having a lot of fun, carrying out the physical parts to a T."
Angie Mitchell, who plays Annie the stage manager, said the play is hilarious and a lot of fun.
"But it's also very painful," she said. "I have injured myself several times. It's not bad, but it's been fun."
She said the play has a lot of sight gags and physicality.
"There has not been a night we have not laughed, just because something new struck us as funny," Mitchell said. "You could say, 'I've watched that 10 times, and you watch it again and we're rolling backstage."
She said she hopes she doesn't lose it on stage and crack up.
"I hope I can keep it together," she said.
The play lives up to its name.
"If you can imagine it going wrong, it will go wrong on this set," Mitchell said.
Patrick Kays, who plays several parts, said the show keeps performers and actors on their toes.
"For everything to go wrong, everything has to go right," he said. "It's definitely a challenge for improvisation, it's a challenge to preparation, it's even a challenge to the crew backstage."
Newcomer Mike Meyer plays Dennis the butler and said the play is chaos.
Potter said the butler is supposed to have a hard time learning lines and pronouncing words correctly and must have notes on his hands.
If you go
WHAT: "The Play that Goes Wrong."
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13; 8 p.m. Oct. 14 and 15.
WHERE: Muskogee Little Theatre, 311 S. Third St.
TICKETS: $15, adults; $12 students.
Cast
MAX, CECIL and ARTHUR: Jimmy Finnerty.
CHRIS, DIRECTOR and INSPECTOR CARTER: Mike Carrels.
ROBERT, THOMAS: Patrick Kays.
SANDRA: Angelina Villegas.
DENNIS PERKINS: Mike Meyer.
TREVOR: Aaron Willyard.
JONATHAN and CHARLES: Aundre Hughes.
ANNIE: Angie Mitchell.
MEMBERS OF THE CORNLEY DRAMA SOCIETY STAGE CREW: Beverly Boyer, Ann Page, Michael McGill, Avery White, Ashley Luckey-Scruggs, Chrissy Lewis, Tara Lindsay.
Production crew
DIRECTOR: Doobie Potter.
STAGE MANAGER: Beverly Boyer.
COSTUMER: Wren Stratton.
PRODUCER: Karen Coker.
LIGHTS / LIGHT DESIGN, LIGHTBOARD OPERATOR: Jeran McGill.
SOUND: Aaron Willyard.
SPECIAL EFFECTS: David Bennett, David Eckerson, Justin Hurlburt, Haden and Denise Epperson, Meagan McCauley, Penny McGill.
SET CONSTRUCTION: Patrick Kays, Jimmy Finnerty, Andy Sanchez, Adam West, Angelina Villegas, Sally Kays, Angie Mitchell, Billy Godney, Michael McGill, Randy Strickland, Wade Jones, Seth Arnold, Cody Galliton, Mike Kays, Ashley Lucky-Scruggs, Jeran McGill, Laci Strickland, Terry Godman, Frank Godman.
