The OHS fall production, “The Play That Goes Wrong,” opens Friday, Nov. 1. It runs Nov. 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. and on Nov. 3 at 1:30 p.m. The play has some exciting new tech and theatrical elements for the audience’s enjoyment.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” has a unique plot. Director Mr. Erik Eitrheim said, “It’s about a theater comp
any named the Cornley Drama Society in Great Britain. They are putting on a show called “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” and it is their to-date best show – the one they’ve worked the hardest on, spent the most money on and are really swinging for the fences with and unfortunately for them everything that can go wrong in the show seemingly does.”
Mr. Eitrheim said that, without revealing too much, everything that can go wrong with the set in the show does go wrong. Cornley Drama Society’s production struggles in every way that the audience could think of. The show also interacts with the audience. Some audience members are invited to come onstage, although participation will be limited. This show is a tech-heavy show, so it has a lot of technical elements in it in order to make the show come alive. There are a lot of light and sound cues to create fun special effects for the show.
This show has a small cast of eight people. One way cast members get into character is to think about who their character is and how they see them. Senior Johnathan Kirkham said, “So I play Chris who, on the actor’s side of things, is the director of the show. Then when it comes to ‘The Murder At Haversham Manor,’ I am Inspector Carter.” Kirkham said he sees Chris as very uptight and pretentious because he doesn’t care about any factors besides getting the show on – even if it means putting his actors in danger. Inspector Carter, Kirkham said, is very inquisitive, and he looks at all the little details. He is not a good man, but he is not a bad inspector. His biggest fear is the shield bit because it has gone wrong every run. He said it is important to find the sweet spot of what works and what does not. Kirkham’s favorite scene is with Robert on the platform. It is one of the more frightening things Johnathan has done in theater.
On the technical side, the show is hectic. Walls fall, the floor to the study collapses, the cast falls off the second level, and they take hits by unhinged doors. Stage Manager Kaylee Ruhlig said, “So I am the stage manager, and without giving it away, there are a ton of tricky cues. Especially when you have a show where anything can go wrong, something is bound to go wrong.” Ruhlig said she is excited to perform the show because of its humorous focus. Ruhlig also said that Mr. Eitrheim does a great job at including the crew in this show. She said that the production has an amazing crew working behind the scenes, and she is not worried about anything going wrong.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” involves actors doing a lot of theatrical fighting along with the many stunts. Sophomore Justice Moots said, “I play Sandra who is an actress, and she plays Florence Colleymoore. Sandra is very clumsy and she’s very nice, but she was kind of spoiled as a kid so she doesn’t understand that things can go wrong. Florence on the other hand is cheeky, very crazy, and she’s very manipulative. It’s kind of the opposite of Sandra.” Justice said she doesn’t have a specific scene she is excited for but she is excited for all of Act II.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” is set to be a memorable and humorous show. Tickets are available online. Admission is $5 for students and $8 for adults. Activity passes are accepted.
