The Play That Goes Wrong

Summary

By Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields

Directed by Fred Sullivan Jr.

“Break a leg!” takes on a whole new meaning for a woefully misguided troupe of players at the Cornley University Society’s opening night performance of The Murder at Haversham Manor. An unconscious leading lady, a corpse who can’t play dead, a ruffled detective, and a word-mangling butler (among others) must battle against technical gaffes, forgotten lines, and sabotaging scenery in a quest to arrive all in one piece at the final curtain call. Part Monty Python, part Sherlock Holmes, all mayhem—this 1920s whodunit is disastrously delightful.

Help Lyric Stage Care for our Neighbors!

During the run of The Play That Goes Wrong, we will be collecting personal hygiene items for our friends who reside at 140 Clarendon as part of the affordable housing units supported by Beacon Communities.

We will be accepting items such as soap, shampoo/conditioner, underwear for men and women (all sizes), socks, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, lotion, hand sanitizer, feminie hygiene products, shaving cream, razors, toilet paper, hair brushes, Q-tips, and tissues.

Before the show, drop off your items in Kumba Library located on the same floor as the theater. Thank you for helping us help our neighbors!

Press & Reviews

“It’s a love letter to the theater, it’s a love letter to actors,” Sullivan said. “It has magic to it. There’s an innocence to it… I dare people not to be charmed by it.”

The Play That Goes Wrong’ is just right | Boston Herald | Jed Gottlieb

“The true star of the show is scenic designer Peter Colao, who, while working within the confines of the script’s very specific requirements, must protect the Lyric Stage cast (and audience) from danger even as he allows the set to collapse all around them.”

So much goes right in Lyric’s uproarious ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ | The Boston Globe | Terry Bryne

“The comedy shines through in this production, Bowen says, offering much-needed humor for audiences.”

The Play That Goes Wrong” Review | GBH – Morning Edition | Jared Bowen

“Through the magnificent collective effort of the Lyric cast, the comedy gets the volume turned all the way up to “11.” Without Peter Colao’s set and Fred Sullivan, Jr.’s expert stage direction, the planned “failures” incorporated into the script would never fire off as brilliantly as they do.”

The Play That Goes Wrong” Review | METRMag.com | Kevin T. Baldwin

” Without a doubt, this production is truly, completely and disastrously hysterical as well as laugh out loud funny.”

“The Play That Goes Wrong” Review | Boston and Beyond | Susan Mulford

” If pratfalls, mishaps, and chaos are your game, “The Play That Goes Wrong” presents them artfully.”

STIFF UPPER LIPS QUIVER IN ‘PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’ | OnBostonStages.com | Rich Fahey

Toss in ticklish corpses, unconscious leading ladies, multifarious miscues, and technical gaffes all orchestrated by virtuoso director Fred Sullivan, Jr. who knows a thing or two about the precision required to make this bedlam a thing of beauty– and you’ve got a winner.”

“The Play That Goes Wrong” Review | Joyce’s Choices | Joyce Kulhawik ”