Here at Columbia Heights High School (CHHS), our theater department hosted its end of the year spring play, “The Play That Goes Wrong” by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. A raucous work of metafiction that follows a play that is being performed by an inept cast and crew, it is, yes, a play inside of a play. And the title gives away that, yes, the play goes incredibly and perfectly wrong in every sense. Walls break, props fall apart and actors pass out. 

But what is the plot besides general hijinks and chaos? Well, “The Murder at Haversham Manor”, which is what is being performed by the cast of characters, who are members of the fictional Cornley University Drama Society, centers around a murder mystery set at a wealthy family’s engagement party. The husband-to-be, Charley Haversham (played by a Cornley student, who is played by junior Cole Connolly), is found dead in his bedroom, and in a turn of events, the lineup of suspects consists of everyone in the home, and an inspector (played by the Drama Society’s advisor, who is played by senior Ray Muhm)  must try to find out who committed the murder. This enticing premise brings us ensuing comedy and misunderstandings as drinks are replaced with chemicals, props are constantly misplaced and so much more goes wrong. 

 To fully immerse ourselves in the lore of this play and the CHHS performances of it, we have to first meet the first-time CHHS spring play director and veteran science teacher, Ms. Emily Shields. While it was her directorial debut, Shields had been the props manager for various plays before, and after working alongside colleagues and students in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) for several long afternoons and evenings in March and April, many enjoyed the learning opportunities and experiences this new production brought to the storied theater department. 

“It was quite a whirlwind to go from props to director so quickly. I feel like I wasn’t as prepared for the transition as I could have been,” Shields said. “There were parts of directing, such as putting together audition packets, that I had never done before, and I’d do differently if I direct again.”

 As for rehearsal of “The Play That Goes Wrong”, cast member Daniel James (10), who played the Drama Society member cast as Perkins, the butler of the household, was key in creating perfect dynamics with all of the other characters, specifically with precise and hilarious slapstick comedy that really made the show worth rolling over for.

“My favorite memory from the play was our first time practicing spit takes and bits with our fake scotch,” James said. “This show was so entertaining to learn and do, and there was never a dull rehearsal.”

Another standout performance came from freshman Elliot Carruthers as a Drama Society backstage crew member thrust into a role she becomes obsessed with retaining after an actor faints on stage. While, like James, Carruthers had experience performing in musicals before, they didn’t have much background doing a comedic play before and were thus nervous about how the final performances would go.

“When we got our first big laugh from the audience [on] opening night, I was sitting backstage and we all just breathed a sigh of relief,” Carruthers said. “The whole cast was honestly amazing, [and] our chemistry got better and better [with each performance]!”

The set of the show itself is one full of marvel. The set was a huge wall that was the full length of the stage with two working doors and even a revolving bookcase.  While also lots of detective pieces that brought the set to life.

“Being able to get hands-on with the intricate set made this show very unique,” James said. “The smaller cast really enabled each character to shine [as] we all got our different jokes and parts, and each [and every one] got lots of laughs from the audiences! This cast really connected with one another and fit well with the piece.” 

“My favorite memory from the play was the first time the prop swords broke for real during rehearsals,” Shields said. “We all fell apart laughing, which just added to the joy of being in theater and celebrating how things can go wrong and the show carries on.” 

Even though the opportunity to see this amazing play has passed, there are high hopes for next year. What will the CHHS theater department cook up next? Whatever it is, it’s highly unlikely that it will go wrong.