Dupont Circle’s Keegan Theatre once again gives us comedic escapism this summer with its staging of “The Play That Goes Wrong”. Similar in slapstick style to Michael Frayn’s classic 1982 British farce “Noises Off” (which Keegan Theatre produced back in July 2024), “The Play That Goes Wrong” features a dilettante theatrical company attempting to stage an Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery play while contending with collapsing sets, errant props, feuding actors, missed cues and a multitude of other hilariously funny mishaps.
The plot is relatively simple and, truthfully, ceases to matter as the play progressively unravels: The curtain rises on the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s opening night of “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” a classic Hercule Poirot/Agatha Christie whodunit, except produced with a lot less professionalism. Much hilarity ensues over the course of two acts as cheap sets crumble, props are misplaced, lines are forgotten, bad British accents start slipping and stage managers search for a missing dog while tunes from a misplaced Phil Collins CD box set blare unpredictably over the sound system.
It takes a dynamic cast to handle this much sustained and energetic action. Director Michael Innocenti has done a bang-up job of wrangling Darren Badley (Trevor), Rebecca Ballinger (Dennis), Jimmy Bartlebaugh (Max), Jared H. Graham (Jonathan), Leah Packer (Sandra), Matthew Pauli (Chris), Jackson Saunders (Robert) and Martina Schabron (Annie the stage manager). Without exception, everyone excels at making a series of catastrophic mistakes look utterly professional.
