On the weekend of April 3-6, Jesuit Stage and Film preformed their spring production, “A Play That Goes Wrong”. This play is about a murder mystery play going wrong with bad audio cues, forgetting and repeating lines, and a set that falls apart.
“Being able to spend time with the people I love to be around and come together to make a show that had audience members belly laughing was so fulfilling.”-Max Galante ’27
Summary
A Play That Goes Wrong has it all. The play is supposed to be a murder mystery play: The Murder at Haversham Manor. However, it ends up being a giant mess. First, it starts with Max, or Charles Haversham, lying dead in his room. But due to purposely bad blocking, Charles breaks character repeatedly. He even left the room while trying to be “dead.” It gets even worse for the cast when Sandra, or Florence, becomes unconscious due to being hit by a door. Because of this, they have to put in a stage crew member, Annie. However, Annie also shares the same fate as Sandra when she gets hit by a door. Because of this, they have to bring in Trevor, who had also missed multiple sound cues.
“The show itself had a feeling of controlled chaos, which made the rehearsal process more difficult, but ended up with a more rewarding show.” -Trey Massey ’28
As the show progresses, there are many memorization issues. For example, Dennis, who plays Perkins, forgets his line causing the cast to have to repeat the same part over and over. Additionally, Perkins has trouble with pronouncing words. The mistakes get to an all-time high when a whole platform falls on Trevor. But don’t worry, this is supposed to happen, and it adds perfect comedic relief. Eventually, Sandra wakes up and tries to continue. However, Annie also wakes up and tries to fight Sandra on and off stage to have the role of Florence. The Murder at Haversham Manor play ends with Cecil being the only person to survive the Manor with the whole set falling apart.
“I really enjoyed the unpredictability of the show and the sudden gasp from audience members when our calculated chaos went through. It was by far the most fun I’ve had in a Jesuit performance.” -Max Galante ’27
My Thoughts
I had the amazing opportunity to see both casts for the play. They were both stellar and I really enjoyed it. This play was definitely one of my favorites as it was super funny, interactive, and it had that unpredictability to it. So far, this is one of my favorite plays, and one of the best I have seen in my lifetime. It was a great introduction to Jesuit Stage and Film.
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more Jesuit Stage and Film Coverage!
