‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: (Left to right) Ellie Morris, Jonathan Sayer, Charlie Russell, Henry Shields, Henry Lewis & Matthew Cavendish. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

PETER PAN GOES WRONG
Based on J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields
Directed by Adam Meggido
Through July 23, 2023

Ethel Barrymore Theatre
243 West 47th Street
(212-239-6200), https://pangoeswrongbway.com/

By David NouNou

If you are into hyper-energetic physical comedy and relentlessness, then Peter Pan Goes Wrong is your ticket. Whether it is The Play That Goes Wrong or Peter Pan Goes Wrong, it is basically the same show, the same authors and the same leading men consisting of Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields of the London-based Mischief Theatre. However, only the titles are different.

What’s different about this show is it is loosely based on J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and has the distinction of having Neil Patrick Harris as the narrator and playing other bit parts to the delight of the audience. His every entrance and exit elicited applause and that is the better part of the show.

You have to be prepared to in some way be a part of the show. The actors, doubling as stagehands as the audience enters the theatre, mill through the masses, setting up wires and doing bits to prepare the audience for the theatrical pandemonium that ensues. The audience at my performance was more than eager to participate in the interactive shenanigans and then the play began.

The play, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, takes place in some regional/community British theatre, and as the title aptly suggests everything, everywhere all at once goes wrong. From Nana, the dog getting stuck in a trap door to Peter Pan flying upside down to cast members being electrocuted, doors slamming into faces, getting planked in the crotch, and there is a glorious revolving stage. Mayhem, pratfalls and chaos ensue in each scene at a nonstop pace. The audience is encouraged to hiss and boo at some of the characters, and there is no end to that, but suffice it to say the audience is enthralled with all this madness. This comedy genre is enormously popular in the United Kingdom, and obviously has many fans on this side of the Atlantic, too.

Believe it or not, the clever and interesting set design by Simon Scullion is the highlight of the show. After a while and by the second act, all the characters blend into each other and they become indistinguishable from one another, with the exception of Neil Patrick Harris, because he is Neil Patrick Harris—and we are grateful for that.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 21, 2023
Reviewed at April 20, 2023 press performance.

‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: Henry Lewis, Neil Patrick Harris & Henry Shields. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: (Left to right) Harry Kershaw, Chris Leask, Henry Shields, Nancy Zamit, and Greg Tannahill & back (left to right) Charlie Russell & Henry Lewis.

‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: Neil Patrick Harris. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: Matthew Cavendish (front) with (left to right) Harry Kershaw, Charlie Russell, Greg Tannahill, Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Lewis. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: (Left to right) Ellie Morris, Chris Leask & Bianca Horn. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: Nancy Zamit. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: Henry Lewis & Jonathan Sayer. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘PETER PAN GOES WRONG’: Nancy Zamit & Greg Tannahill. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

The post ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ a relentless ride appeared first on StageZine.

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: (left to right) Dave Hearn, Greg Tannahill (on chaise lounge), Henry Lewis & Charlie Russell. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG
By Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields
Directed by Mark Bell
Through January 6, 2019
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
212-239-6200, www.broadwaygoeswrong.com/

By Scott Harrah

The British love slapstick and farce, but what works on the West End doesn’t always translate to guaranteed laughs in America. The Play That Goes Wrong, the long-running London hit, just transferred to Broadway after winning an Olivier for Best New Comedy in 2015. With its relentless pratfalls, visual gags and nonstop ridiculousness, it’s the type of show one either loves or hates.

The Play That Goes Wrong follows in the theatrical footsteps of the door-slamming farces that are a staple in U.K. theatre, from No Sex Please, We’re British and Noises Off to Boeing Boeing and Don’t Dress for Dinner. What sets this play apart from its predecessors is its complete lack of nuance, suggestion and cleverness.  Even in the most preposterous comedies, subtlety should be paramount in the humor. Noises Off kept one’s interest by showing two perspectives of a “play within a play,” alternating between what was happening onstage to backstage antics. Good comedy, no matter how inane, should have an element of surprise, but in this Play That Goes Wrong, one often knows the punch lines to all the jokes and gags beforehand because the laughs are too obvious and trite.

In fact, the show even steals an idea from Noises Off of including a mock program inside the Playbill. The fictional Cornley University Drama Society, an amateur troupe, is presenting a ghastly production of The Murder at Haversham Manor, a 1920s-style whodunit. Even before the show starts, we see stagehands fixing a falling-apart set and various nonsense. When the curtain rises, an actor (Greg Tannhill) is already dead. This sets the tone for the rest of the show, a predictable series of mishaps involving a murder, the suspects, secret lovers and an inspector (Henry Shields).

Doors stick, props fall off the walls, cues and lines are flubbed, malapropisms abound, and there’s a lame running joke about drinking paint thinner mistaken for real booze (and spitting it out). Words are mispronounced, someone hides in a grandfather clock, etc.

Frenetic energy keeps everything moving at a dizzying pace, but it is hardly enough to sustain the lowbrow humor for two full acts, with an intermission. Three of the play’s authors—Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Mr. Shields—are in the show, but it is difficult to see much distinction from any of the cast because Mark Bell directs everyone at the same breakneck pace.

Still, who’s to knock a screwball comedy that’s shamelessly silly if that’s your thing? So few comedies are ever presented on Broadway lately that, when one comes along, it’s a welcome addition to any season. If one enjoys giddy theatrical horseplay and in-your-face physical comedy, this Play That Goes Wrong may just get it right for you, but it is too heavy on the “ham” for those expecting a more ingenious tale.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 6, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on April 5, 2017

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Lewis. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: (left to right) Jonathan Sayer, Henry Lewis, Dave Hearn (center falling), Greg Tannahill (on chaise lounge) & Charlie Russell (in window). Photo: Alastair Muir

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: (Left to right) Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Lewis & Dave Hearn. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: Henry Lewis, Rob Falconer, Nancy Zamit, Greg Tannahill, Charlie Russell. Photo: Alastair Muir

The post ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’: In-your-face farce appeared first on StageZine.