There was a growing sense of panic amongst the crew as we entered the James-York Playhouse on Friday night to see “The Play That Goes Wrong” at Williamsburg Players. Was it just opening night jitters? Or might they not have been quite ready? A mantle over a fireplace was actively being hung, under what appeared to be a very precariously placed chandelier. And there was a second floor on stage without a railing – something that always makes the OSHA-conscious members of my party nervous.
John Cauthen (who, I might add, I’d be happy to see introduce every show I see for the rest of time… and I see a lot of shows) assures us that all is fine, and that he has the utmost confidence in the cast and crew of the Cornley Drama Society as they present “The Murder at Haversham Manor”. Yes – this is a play within a play, where everyone in the show is playing someone who is playing someone. To keep the confusion minimal in this review (I promise, it isn’t confusing on stage) I’m going to use the names of the actor’s characters in the show-within-the-show, which is different than their billed character names.
And so we begin, with the lights coming up a little early, forcing Sam Miller as Charles (who is supposed to be draped, dead, across the chaise lounge center stage) to “think on his feet” and hide behind a tiny support structure until he can make his way to his deathbed. Discovering the body (once they can get into the house) is Lawrence Nichols’ Thomas, who is Charles’ best friend, and Kevin Clauberg’s Perkins (the butler). As it turns out, it is the night of Charles’ engagement party, and when Florence (Tori George) finds out about her fiancé’s demise, she begins to have the first of many “episodes” – a hilarious bit pulled off by George any time her character runs into an emotional moment (and can pull herself away from vogueing dramatically towards the audience). Rounding out our potential suspects is Charles’ brother, Cecil (Greg Lewis) – and so the scene is set for Inspector Carter (the aforementioned Cauthen, (re-)arriving on stage with an appropriate shiver from the “snow” outside) to get to the bottom of this murder.
Supporting the “cast” of “The Murder at Haversham Manor” is stage manager Annie (Vic Collinsworth) and just-off-stage-left lighting and sound operator Trevor (Matt Haley), who do their best to keep the show rolling, despite the consistent setbacks. Collinsworth is very funny as she fills in as anything the production needs (from a replacement for that mantle-piece that won’t quite stay up, to actually stepping into an on-stage role… which she really grows into right before our eyes when she gets the unexpected opportunity to perform a scene ~6 times). And Haley, for his part, is doing his own, slightly more subtle bit of comedic work, as he cross-stitches judgmentally most of the evening, casually pulling out a First Aid kit just-in-case when the action heats up, and asking the audience to please return his Duran Duran CD if they happen to come across it.
As the show-within-a-show devolves (after all, it is “The Play That Goes Wrong”), the audience starts to realize just how impressive the work being done by this cast and crew truly is. The cast gets the feel of “the show must go on” just right, while each having their own agendas. Cauthen looks nervous on stage for what has to be the first time in forever, and harkens back to his HRACT award-winning role as Nostradamus when he has to intuit the content of a seemingly impossible to open last will and testament. Nichols’ shocked face when the word “murder” is mentioned and the lights turn red with a dramatic sound effect is worth the price of admission – and his ability to bear a huge amount of the physical comedy is impressive. Greg Lewis pecking like a chicken at a mid-scene ovation from the audience had me belly-laughing, and when he switches characters to come out as Arthur the gardener (and indicates to the audience that “it’s me again!”), I couldn’t stop giggling. And Clauberg’s constant checking of the notes written on his hand, and participation in a gag where a pen becomes keys, and keys become a notebook, and a notebook becomes a vase – so well done.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” is not a show where the director can wing it. It has to have some of the most complicated stage directions of the shows on the community theatre circuit, with so much of the comedy riding on timing (both physical and verbal), movement around the stage, slightly awkward motions and mis-timed cues, and a set which becomes a character in itself. Lisa Velardi, then, certainly had her work cut out for her – and she did a remarkable job, getting this cast to fully buy in to every joke, while not letting them get too far afield, and bringing such a talented production team together. Bill Velardi outdid himself with a set that literally falls apart and gets put back together nightly (credit to the hard-working and part-of-the-show crew), and more tricks in it than I can count (and I’m an accountant). Velardi also did the lighting design (perfectly executed by operator Paige Foley), and the sound from designer Deb Kelley missed its cues to a “t”. And, I didn’t expect the costuming from Dylan George to stand out so much – it must have been difficult to find such a perfectly ill-fitting tuxedo for Clauberg, the just-right Cleopatra-inspired flapper dress for George (and later Collinsworth), and those wonderfully ridiculous mutton chops for Lewis.
Props to Williamsburg Players for having the hutzpah to pick a show with such known challenges, and even more props for pulling it off so well. This group should be proud of their work – maybe even as proud as Clauberg’s Perkins when he and Nichols successfully picked up that corpse in the second act. That standing ovation, one of the loudest I’ve heard at WP, is well-deserved.
(New this season, our wonderful cat Pepper wanted her voice heard as well, if you all will oblige her…)
Pepper’s Purr-fect Picks: I love that “Cat” shirt some of the crew is wearing, and the formal painting of a very dashing dog over the fireplace. After all, a pet deserves a place of honor over the mantle. Three paws up!
(Pepper also canonically sells concessions at the various community theaters. She always comes up with a themed drink special, which is for entertainment purposes only and notably IS NOT in fact available for purchase)
Pepper’s Drink Special: “The Drink That Goes Right” – a strawberry lemonade with actual pieces of strawberries and edible glitter.
