We invite you to witness the chaos of its spring comedy, “The Play That Goes Wrong.” ASPI will present the show May 8-11 and May 15-18 at the Nancy Byng Community Theater, 5852 Maple St., Abrams.
Mike Eserkaln, the artistic director of Comedy City in De Pere, directs the show. He said audiences are going to love the physical comedy. “There’s never a point where something or someone is not moving during the show, often with hilarious and catastrophic results,” Eserkaln said. “The actors are earnestly trying to perform a play while every conceivable thing that can go wrong, does. Every choice the actors make to fix things is the wrong choice.”
“The Play That Goes Wrong” describes the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s attempt to produce an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. Unfortunately, the set is not yet complete, the props start to disappear, actors go missing, and the set begins to collapse. Mayhem ensues, the acting gets worse, and the set becomes increasingly dangerous. The question is whether any of the cast and crew will remain standing, or conscious, by the final curtain! “This show is really an experience, something only live theatre can do,” Eserkaln said. “A number of gags are going to rely on gravity, so each show is going to be a little different.”
The set for the show is a character all by itself. Everything – paintings, furniture, walls, the fireplace – is a thought-out prop that has a hilarious moment of going wrong. Cyndy Sweetland designed the set, and David Jolly engineered it.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” features an ensemble cast, and all of the actors are well-versed in comedy. Eserkaln said his favorite character is Trevor the Lights and Sound guy. “He participates in the chaos just as much as everyone but has the cool-headed detachment that I love about theatre tech people,” he said.
Tickets on sale now by grabbing them on our website or by calling the box office at 920-826-5852.