THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG Previews

[BroadwayConcierge]

Coming from the West End (and following its 2015 win for the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy), The Play That Goes Wrong begins previews in just a few days (Thursday, March 9, 2017) at the Lyceum Theatre! Featuring the original London cast, opening is set for April 2 for an open run.

Who's going?!

[freewilma]

Have tickets for late Marchl!

[carolinaguy]

Seeing it in April as the last show of an 8-show trip. Thought it might be nice to end with a light farce, so I wish the show all the best. It will have to be pretty hilarious, though, to be funnier than the comically small men's room in the balcony of the Lyceum. It's so small you have to dislocate your shoulder to zip up your pants.

[10086sunset]

Going Friday.

[canadian fan]

Carolinaguy, we are in the same situation. Seeing it in May as the last show of an 8 show trip!  I haven't bought tickets yet, just waiting to get some opinions on seating as I believe the premise involves problems with the set etc, so I am wondering if lower balcony might be the best vantage point.  But yes, looking forward to some silliness. My wife.....not so much haha..... 

[little_sally]

Going next Thursday and really looking forward to it!

[WhizzerMarvin]

canadian fan said: "Carolinaguy, we are in the same situation. Seeing it in May as the last show of an 8 show trip!  I haven't bought tickets yet, just waiting to get some opinions on seating as I believe the premise involves problems with the set etc, so I am wondering if lower balcony might be the best vantage point.  But yes, looking forward to some silliness. My wife.....not so much haha..... 

 

I'm seeing this on Thursday, but I wanted to warn you against the lower (front) balcony as there is a somewhat high railing that runs across the front and will block your view if you don't sit several rows back. I've sat up in the Lyceum balcony many times, but it's rarely to never preferable to the mezz. When I became obsessed with [tos], Scottsboro and The Visit it was a fine place to buy a cheap ticket for repeat visits, but if you're only seeing something once check out the rear mezz for a more affordable option. 

 

[canadian fan]

Thanks WhizzerMartin, and I misspoke.....I should have said lower mezz. (after reading about the balcony at this venue I'm avoiding that for sure)  Right now I am looking at about 4th row of mezz.....

[rosscoe(au)]

Saw this two weeks ago in London, can't remember the last time I've laughed this hard, I wish it all the success it can get 

[canadian fan]

Roscoe, great to hear! Maybe you can help me out with my seating question. In general (not venue specific) what is the best vantage point to see this show? Up close? Mid orchestra? Lower Mezz? Am wondering if this one might be a bit of a unique show as far as ideal seating goes, but then again I could be totally over thinking it.

[jacobsnchz14]

Anyone going to the dress rehearsal tonight?

[Sauja]

Also saw this in London and loved it. Very slapstick, very silly, very entertaining. Canadian Fan, I think I'd go mid-orchestra or front mezz--either should be great. If it's the same as it was in London, there are little bits that happen in the house. They seemed to have directed it strongly enough that no matter where you were you didn't really miss anything, but I think having a solid view of much of the theater would be ideal. 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

How have the Noises Off comparisons been? Are the two plays really that alike?

[Smaxie]

The Play That Goes Wrong is sort of like a full evening of Act 3 of Noises Off. Not as ingeniously constructed as the entirety of Noises Off, but funny nevertheless. 

[nasty_khakis]

Smaxie said: "The Play That Goes Wrong is sort of like a full evening of Act 3 of Noises Off. Not as ingeniously constructed as the entirety of Noises Off, but funny nevertheless. "

100%. Noises Off has a structure that builds, it lays a lot of groundwork that pays off hugely in act 2 and 3. The Play That Goes Wrong is really just the act 3 "door handle falls off/phone is missing" bits. They build as well, but it's still basically the same joke of "well that goes wrong" for 2 hours. That said, I LOVED it in London and laughed out loud the entire time. This isn't a best play contender or anything, but it's great silly fun. 

[ggersten]

I have described "The Play That Goes Wrong" as "Noises Off" without the plot.  

I'm not familiar with The Lyceum, but in London, the Duchess Theatre's seating was sort of curved which meant several seats on the edges had limited views of certain pieces of action that took place on the "sides" of the Haversham Manor set.  London Seating  So, go for the center as much as possible.  As for "closeness" - for the most part, the show is played broadly, although there are lots of facial reactions as the "actors" struggle with the stuff that goes wrong.  But, lots of broad physical comedy that does not require proximity.  

[WhizzerMarvin]

I was at the first preview tonight and had a ball. It's all very silly, but often the laughs went beyond chuckles to genuine belly laughs. There were even a few moments where I was laughing so hard that I could barely catch my breath. 

Really there's nothing anyone can say without spoiling all the jokes. The premise is in the title- you are attending a production of "The Murder at Haversham Manor" and everything that could goes wrong does. 

The actors are all wonderful, but I must give special mention to Dave Hearn who killed me with his mugging. 

It's a real shame that this is being advertised so poorly because I think it has the potential to be a real crowd-pleasing hit. Highly recommended if you need a carefree night at the theater. 

[sorano916]

I went tonight after just randomly stopping by the theatre because I needed a laugh after a crappy day at work. I got a $30 rear balcony ticket. It actually wasn't a terrible view but it was kinda hot back there. I moved down to the from row as seats were available there, but yeah, the railing blocked the view a bit so I had to peek above it. 

 

Seats more towards the center are better. If you're too far house left, you miss the left box where the "stage manager" sits so you miss out on that action. Too far house right & you'll miss the little upper level on stage left which is the study.

 

I really enjoyed it. Lots of laughs, not so much of an actual plot. As most people mentioned, it comes across more as "Nothing On" than "Noises Off." Some ongoing visual gags wore off after a bit, but it was still fun.

 

I think I spotted Andrea Martin as I was leaving. :)

[RippedMan]

Sounds like an odd choice of theater for this production. I feel like the balcony is actually quite large. 

[RestingOtter]

I saw it from the second row (from the sale back in november) and loved it.  I was laughing the whole time.  The cast was incredible, and i loved the set.

 

Also ran into JJ Abrams on my way in and saw that he was very accommodating with fan before the show. 

[dave1606]

I was there tonight and had a blast. The show is hysterical. First, a bit of fun. In front of my in line at will call was Victor Garber who was very apologetic when his larger group piled in in front of me. He said, "sorry they're with me." Among this group, Andrea Martin and Martin Short. Needless to say not a bad start to the evening!

One bit of negatives. Do NOT get side orchestra seats. My one complaint is that my seat while not labeled partial view, very much was so. I don't remember the details of the $25 ticket offer, but I don't remember it mentioning that they would be partial view? Listen, I'm not complaining as it was still a good deal for the price, but I do think you should know this in advance. I missed anything to the left of the door so I didn't see anything with the painting or the mantle which was a bit disappointing.

That said the show is so funny it doesn't matter. Yes, it is the third Act of noises off, but it is VERY, very funny. There is some brilliant physical humor here and I thought the cast was fantastic.  I was in tears of laughter much of through act 2. The bit with clock in act 2 was among my favorites. My one complaint is that I do think the show could be done with no intermission. 

It was a great evening out and I hope this catches on. I will definitely be returning. I heard Andrea Martin tell producer J. J. Abrams she "had a great time and thought the show was hysterical." Now if only there had been sardines!

[canadian fan]

Awesome to hear! Will be buying my tickets for this show asap!! Have a choice of 1st row mezz or centre orch near the rear of the orchestra. Any suggestions which would be better?

[Dane F]

Was in the balcony for the show last night, second row from the railing. Show was absolutely amazing! One of the funniest shows I've seen in awhile.

I stage doored with some people afterwards, and the whole cast, honestly, seemed awestruck by the amount of people waiting for them and the support they got.

Jonathan Sayer, who plays the butler character, when he came out to sign playbills and posters, asked me "Does......does this sort of thing happen a lot in America?" When I told him it did, he just looked around in awe and was all "This......this NEVER happened when we were in London......just incredible....."

[Esther]

One bit of negatives. Do NOT get side orchestra seats. My one complaint is that my seat while not labeled partial view, very much was so. I don't remember the details of the $25 ticket offer, but I don't remember it mentioning that they would be partial view? Listen, I'm not complaining as it was still a good deal for the price, but I do think you should know this in advance. I missed anything to the left of the door so I didn't see anything with the painting or the mantle which was a bit disappointing.

 

 

"

My $25.00 ticket is Orch Row B1 & I definitely don't recall any partial view mention in the PR for the promo.  It struck me as they wanted to fill the early previews with an audience, like The Play What I Wrote did so many years ago, in the same theater by offering very steeply discounted shows to the first week of previews. 

 

Hopefully, they run longer!

[macnyc]

I'm so glad to hear that this is as funny as advertised. I saw the recent revival of Noises Off, and although I loved some of the performances, I found the play kind of tedious. I guess that's because of its structure, that you see the play from the audience perspective, then you hear much of the same material again, from "backstage." One of my favorite shows is One Man, Two Guvnors, although of course the great Richard Corden had a lot to do with that. I hope this play is along those lines. I have tickets for the first row in the mezzanine via the $25 ticket offer, and I'm looking forward to it!

 

 Edied to add: Yes, sorry, James Corden!

[bct14972]

Also saw this last night, and can echo that it is one of the funniest things I've ever seen onstage. Much like "Oh, Hello" earlier this year, or even "Disaster", it doesn't ask anything from the audience other than laughter--and last night's crowd complied with that request exceedingly well. Here's hoping the critics do the same--we need more unbridled joy on Broadway!

 

And indeed--the crowd was well stocked with celebs last night! My partner got a pic with Victor Garber!