A comedy of errors by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, directed by Stuart Carden, following the chaotic staging of a 1920s mystery play.
The Play That Goes Wrong runs from May 4 to May 23, 2027, at KCRep's Spencer Theatre (4949 Cherry Street) in Kansas City. It's a production by KCRep, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, and directed by KCRep Artistic Director Stuart Carden.
The premise is a play within a play. The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is putting on The Murder at Haversham Manor, a 1920s mystery, and it starts out fine enough. From there, it goes south. The set proves unsteady, the actors trip over the furniture and their own lines, and the murder victim has a hard time playing dead. The whole thing descends from a standard whodunit into outright calamity, with the physical comedy taking center stage as the production falls apart around them.
It's an award-winning London and Broadway sensation that The New York Times called a "gut-busting hit," and it's been compared to a wrestling match for how it plays to packed houses. It's built on energetic physical comedy, the kind that's meant to leave the whole family rolling in the aisles.
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If you're interested in what happens behind the scenes, there's a free post-show talkback with the actors and crew following the Sunday, May 16 performance. Tickets start at $44.
