Delta Center Stage’s final show of the season is set to open in less than a week, and audiences should be prepared to “laugh giggles” at “The Play that Goes Wrong.”
Performances will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, followed by a 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinee at Jake and Freda Stein Hall at the EE Bass Cultural Arts Center, 323 S. Main St.
This ‘play within a play’ is the product of the British writing team of Mischief Theater Company, who are also considered masters of Broadway comedy.
“The Play that Goes Wrong,” described as a hit prank, is the latest iteration of one of the Mischief Theater Company’s favorite sub-forms, “play-within-a-play,” according to a statement from DCS press.
The plot centers on the Cornley University Drama Society’s fictional new production, “The Murder at Haversham Manor”, where things are said to go from bad to worse rather quickly, largely due to the seemingly overly-exact comedians. zealous and prone to accidents.
However, accident-prone actors should make for great entertainment and a hearty laugh.
Dave Adams, who has been involved with DCS for nearly a decade, is set to portray Robert Grove, who plays the fictional Thomas Colleymoore in the “game within a game.”
He and his wife attended a production of “The Play that Goes Wrong” at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis about a year and a half ago and it left such an impression that he suggested DCS put on a production of it. to Executive Director Tim Bixler, should he ever become available.
“I laughed so hard I cried and didn’t see large parts of the play because I couldn’t see the scene through my tears,” Adams recalled. “I almost fainted twice because I laughed hard enough that I couldn’t catch my breath.”
Adams said that to tap into his character’s portrayal, he had to imagine that he was a proud, somewhat aloof community theater actor.
“He thinks he’s better than he is and like everyone else I make really bad decisions when things start to go wrong,” he said of his character.
After committing to two solid months of rehearsals, what Adams has enjoyed the most is going to DCS and working with his friends and hopes audiences can enjoy an abundance of silliness that happens. unfold before their eyes.
Wade Chambers shared Adams’ sentiments.
While the rehearsal and prep for the show consisted of many hours, lots of time learning lines and a tired, sore body, the payoff for Chambers was big laughs with his friends in the cast and the team.
Chambers will play Chris Bean – director of “the room within the room” and head of the fictional Cornley Drama Society.
“In ‘The Murder at Haversham Manor,’ Chris plays Detective Fredrick Carter,” Chambers noted. “Chris is very excited and anxious that this production will go well. He tells the audience at the start of the show that this will be the biggest and best-funded production the Cornley Drama Society has ever presented.
Chambers shed some additional light on the portrayal of her character who knows all of her lines and tries to keep the other actors on track as the show goes “worse and worse.”
“He clearly denies that actors can somehow hide their mistakes from the public. I feel like this role suits me well because it reminds me that the best-intentioned plans don’t always pan out “quite as rehearsed,” he said.
Chambers was also asked what made this production unique from several he had been cast in.
“The technical challenges presented by the set and the number of theatrical tricks, as well as the challenge for the actors to stay focused amid the seeming chaos around them, make this a unique and exciting show to participate in and produce,” he said. answered.
Bixler also pointed to the technically strenuous nature of producing a game within a game, which many casual viewers may not be aware of.
“Putting this show together required a tremendous commitment of resources…both time and money…and we committed more rehearsal hours than usual, almost double,” said underlined Bixler. “One of the most challenging and satisfying developments in rehearsal has been the remarkable natural talent and hard work of our cast members.”
He added: “Shows like this, if played ‘just for laughs’, can fail and do so spectacularly. What makes the series so damn hilarious is ensuring that the actors remain in a mode of sincerely trying to “do their best” at all times while all the effort explodes in everyone’s face. world.
“Everything about this piece takes you out of this rat race that is the world around us and makes you think, ‘What else is going to happen? ‘” Adams said.
Bixler added, “We are thrilled to bring this steamy new family-friendly comedy to our audiences as one of the first community theaters in the country licensed to present this popular new show.
Adult admission is $10 for each performance, and admission for anyone with a student ID or anyone under the age of 16 is $6.
Admission is free for DCS subscribers.
Tickets will also be available at the door before each show.
All tickets are general admission and there are no reserved seats: all seats are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information and special arrangements of any kind, call Tim Bixler at 662-820-5489.
Tickets can be purchased at Grounded Sister offices, Montage Market Place, Bass Center or at the online box office at deltastage.com.
