If You Love Slapstick, This Will Tickle Your Funny Bone

You either love slapstick–think of the Three Stooges–or you hate it. Few people are indifferent.

If you love it, then The Play That Goes Wrong, now at the Legacy Theater in Stony Creek through Sunday, Oct. 1, will tickle your funny bone.

Slapstick is not my favorite. I’ll make exceptions for some farces that include slapstick–Noises Off is one–but pure slapstick quickly loses my interest. After the setup is exposed, it just seems repetitious and more and more improbable.

So, I was surprised that I found this production amusing. As a side note, I had seen the Broadway production and couldn’t wait until it ended. I’m also convinced that this play would be better with some editing.

What was the difference? I’m not sure. Perhaps the Legacy Theatre itself, the more intimate theater space, made the difference.

The premise is that the Cornley Drama Society, a British community theater with a dubious reputation–previous productions have been disastrous–is putting on an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery.

Even before the curtain goes up (figuratively), the set starts falling apart since there is no curtain. A mantel keeps falling off. Even an audience member is enlisted to help to no avail.

That is the key to what transpires. At some point, every piece of the set fails to work properly; the nonplussed performers must improvise. A door that is locked when it shouldn’t be. Props are missing. A stretcher falls apart. And so the amateur performers must improvise, sometimes to hysterical ends. Even the sound and lighting cues, the responsibility of Trevor, get messed up as he dozes off during the performance.

Timing is everything. On opening night, the timing was good, but it should become even smoother as the run progresses. Director Keely Basiden Knudsen has obviously worked hard with the cast on the intricacies.

Adding to the mayhem with the set, one of the performers seems to prefer showing off rather than playing his role. He constantly improvises some bit of business he thinks is brilliant and then turns to the audience to hammer home that it was his invention.

Kudos to scenic designer Jamie Burnett and particularly to master carpenter Rich Burkam and his crew. This set, with an upstairs office, requires complex engineering. It isn’t easy to make things fall apart slowly and yet still be safe for the actors. The upstairs floor begins to collapse while performers are on it.

Overall, the production values of the show–lighting also by Burnett, costumes by Elizabeth Bolster, and sound by Adam Jackson are very good. They are exactly what local community theater would select, from the slightly ill-fitting tux with sequins to the sequined cocktail dress for the leading lady.

Don’t worry much about the murder plot, which entails a house party during a snowstorm, the murder of Charles on the night his engagement to Florence is to be announced, and later, another murder. Who did it–Charles’ brother and the fiancé who are in love with each other? The brother of the fiancé. The servant or someone else? Does anyone really care about solving The Murder at Haversham Manor?

Keeping track of the cast is a challenge. We have lists of the members of the drama society and the actors portraying them, and then another list indicating who each drama society member plays in the murder mystery.

Since these performers are supposedly amateurs, over-the-top performances and some too understated are expected.

Mariah Sage, as the stage manager who must step into the role of the fiancé, was very good. She says the words in her script as if she had never seen nor heard them before, including a very funny mispronunciation of Cecil. Her delivery reminded me of Tina Fey’s in some of her roles.

Chris Lemieux, as Florence’s brother, has the most strenuous role. He certainly accomplishes it with aplomb. Several times he must navigate the slowly falling upstairs. Jimmy Johansmeyer, as the Inspector and head of the drama society, conveys that sense of self-importance.

Even if you aren’t a huge fan of slapstick, you will enjoy many moments in this production.

For information and tickets, visit LegacyTheatreCT.org.