"The Play That Goes Wrong"

Last night we took in the first show of the Broadway Pittsburgh 2018-19 season, the hilarious "The Play That Goes Wrong" by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields.  This is actually a play within a play, wherein a ragtag amateur British theater group sets out to present a play called The Murder at Haversham Manor.  As the title tells you, nothing, and I mean nothing goes right for this spunky little theater group, and the results are hilarious.

Everything that you ever laughed about in, say, a Marx Brothers movie, an episode of I Love Lucy, or a madcap comedy sketch on the Carol Burnett Show is all here for you in this show.  A dead body that can't stop moving, actors missing their lines, crew members wandering onto the set, and scenery that doesn't always stay in place.....and those are just some of the things that will make you laugh during this play.  As much as anything, great comedy depends on great timing from the performers, and the eight actors in "The Play That Goes Wrong" had their timing down perfectly.  You have to be a really good actor to portray a really bad actor, and, again, this cast pulled it off perfectly.

I laughed throughout the whole show.   Even the folks at the Benedum got into the spirit of the whole thing:

This show's run in Pittsburgh ends today, but put it on your radar if you ever get the chance to see it someday and you need a good laugh.

Three Stars from The Grandstander.