The Play That Goes Wrong

"The Play That Goes Wrong" is still funny and engaging. I first saw the show at the Lyceum Theater when it was on Broadway and then again when it moved to The World Stages. Like many Broadway and off Broadway shows that run a long time,casts changes make the show different over time. Live theater is not like watching your favorite movie over and over with the same result. When you watch a show day in and day out it is never the same result.

The same can be said for when shows transfer and not just Broadway house to Broadway house. Actors changing their environment can have an impact on their performance. It may take a while for the entire cast to adjust to the new theater they are in.

Seeing The Play That Goes Wrong for the third time (twice at New World Stages), it reminded me of The Fantastics that ran at The Sullivan Street Playhouse for so many years; I saw it near its end run, the cast was good, not great and it seemed that anyone who wanted in on the acting for the storied play had already played the show.

With yesterday's theater nearly 80% full, you wonder when the producers will finally pull the plug on this great show. After a good run by the same producers, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, it is evident that they have avid audiences of this Monte Python type humor. But only so many fans can see a play only so often.

In yesterday's performance I thought that this cast could not match the other great casts before them. The play was slow and unemotional at some points, strong and funny at other moments. Looking at a mostly full house, I could not help feel that the show is about to come to an end.

To its credit though, this play went from a big Broadway stage to a much smaller stage off Broadway and did very well! I was surprised when I reviewed it at World Stages that I would like it so much. The acting was first rate, the direction was crisp and the comedy was high octane. It was yesterday that I saw the wear and tear of this comedy; much like seeing an old ball player for the last time coming to bat.

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A commentary on shows moving theaters.

There have been times when I saw a show at one theater and loved it only to be disappointed to see it again at another theater for another continuous run. Take Desperate Measures, the show was such a huge hit at The York Theater Company only to have it be midland at The New World Stages. The mostly same cast was uninspired their, the lead actor went on to be in the show Network on Broadway which made me think that his heart wasn't in the current show he was performing in.

A real hidden gem, Desperate Measures was just so-so on a bigger stage. When I say bigger stage, it is not literal, it is meant that at World Stages it was seen in a bigger theater with more audience members.

Cagney

Cagney too played at York Theater, however, when it moved to the Westside Theater it was incredible. The musical was made for a bigger stage and as such, it was able to really reach its potential. The smaller York stage boxed in the Cagney actor; at the Westside he was able to really turn on the dancing. Cagney had a great run at Westside and ran for a few years after York.

Does a theater make a difference to the actors? I think so. A theater that is made for a particular show is just as important as is the director. When a show transfers it takes a big risk' sometimes it pays off, sometimes it does not.

Cagney, Westside Theater, The New World Stages, Hamilton, Harmony, Back To The Future, Tony Awards, Broadway, New York City.