By GERRY BARKER North Palm Beach Life WEST PALM BEACH_"The Play That Goes Wrong," which had its opening at the Kravis CenterTuesday night, finally answers that age old question, "What else could possibly go wrong?" The answer: Everything. This British import from the Mischief Theatre Company, which debuted in 2012 and has had successful runs in both London's West End and Broadway, takes slapstick, pratfalls and physical humor to a whole new level as an ill-fated troupe of actors attempt to perform a murder mystery. It's almost nonstop mayhem as scenery comes apart, a dead man moves, lines are forgotten, stage hands are pressed into service and the set collapses on itself. By the time this theatrical apocalypse concludes, you have lost interest in solving the whodunit of "The Murder at Haversham Manor." No matter -- the real star of the show is the dexterity of the actors, who stretch to hold up falling scenery, take numerous falls and hold on for dear life as a second story floor collapses. The production itself is pretty amazing. As devoted fans of British humor, "The Play That Goes Wrong" evokes flashbacks to "Benny Hill" and "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" by the Reduced Shakespeare Company -- 37 plays in 90 minutes. The gags come so fast and furious you almost wish it could "go right" for a stretch here and there so you can catch your breath. While its brand of humor isn't for everyone (a fair number of people left early), if you appreciate British humor and non-traditional Broadway productions, you'll have fun watching these accomplished actors attempting to make lemonade out of lemons. "The Play That Goes Wrong" is at the Kravis through Dec. 15. I'm ENDing this HeRe befotre this becomes ther REVIEW that goes WrONG. Comments are closed.
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March 2024
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