Background, left to right: Anastasia Brunk (Annie Twiloil), Danielle Comer (Hannah Howel), Judah Canizares (Perkins), Mary Rodrigues (Florence Colleymoore), Christopher Smith (Thomas Colleymoore); foreground: John Jennings (Cecil Haversham). Photo by Heather Regan.
Actors, directors, and stage crew all strive for perfection when putting on a show. The Arlington Players have mastered perfection in the art of imperfection in their current production of “The Play That Goes Wrong.” Following the classic play-within-a-play trope, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields’ “The Play That Goes Wrong” centers around the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society producing “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” a 1920s murder mystery play where they FINALLY have enough actors to put it on—if nothing goes wrong, of course. With actors playing people playing actors, the audience gets to see the Arlington Players’ ensemble acting expertise on full display.
…Arlington Players’ ensemble acting expertise [is] on full display. Director Maureen Dawson…audiences are in great hands with her direction and cast.
Leading the troupe of actors is director, Chris Bean who also plays Inspector Carter in “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” Both characters are portrayed by the charismatic Eric Kennedy who does so with ease, strongly setting the chaotic tone for the rest of the hilarious cast.
Alexandra Lagos as Trevor Watson and Anastasia Brunk as Annie Twiloil are the two “techies” who do a fantastic job of providing fourth-wall-breaking laughs, perfectly playing with, and off of, the jokes of Drama Society actors. The physical comedy of Mary Rodrigues as Sandra Wilkinson/Florence Colleymoore was truly unmatched.
John Jennings as Max Bennett/Cecil Haversham/Arthur the Gardener offered a stellar stand-out performance. His comedic timing and acting prowess made him impossible not to watch and had the audience clapping and laughing longer as he played into the audience’s applause for him and his fellow castmates. There were impressive performances from all of the actors, although some could have done with a couple more dialect rehearsals and focus on the importance of comedic timing in some scenes.
One of the most impressive members of the ensemble was not a cast member at all, but the remarkable set design by Skip Gresko (with Tom O’Reilly as lead carpenter), scenic design by Kimberly Leone, and properties/set dressings by Erin Branigan, Emma Bowers, and Katherine Offut-Ross—with a large shout out to the run crew as well. This set had several roles to play. Objects needed to fall off and break at the correct time in a manner that was not only safe for the actors, but exciting for the audience members. Gresko’s set did just that. Kudos to Jillian Riti’s fight choreography on that as well.
Director Maureen Dawson could have easily bit off more than she could chew with this technically advanced, slapstick farce but audiences are in great hands with her direction and cast. Don’t miss your chance to see “The Play That Goes Wrong!”
Running Time: Approximately two hours with one 15-minute intermission.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” runs through February 16, 2025 by The Arlington Players at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre, 125 S Old Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22204. For more information and to purchase tickets, please go go online.
