Wednesday, April 12, 2017

The British Import on B'wy "The Play that Goes Wrong" I'm the Wrong Audience for this Wacky Slapstick

The Play that Goes Wrong was not my cup of tea.  For me, it was as distasteful as drinking paint thinner; one of the multitude of running sight gags where expectorating was expected.  Adding to this calamity of a play were props  that continuously flopped, lines get dropped & pronunciations are mashed.  Most painful to endure were the physical catastrophes.  The leading lady was rendered & unceremoniously dragged off set & missteps that kept the corpse from staying dead.   The melodrama of a murder mystery was a ruckus romp that began pre-show with stage hands on stage attempting to fix the perpetual opening door and the loose board in the floor.  Sitting through the first act was a dreadful chore.  Intermission granted me permission to bail.   Alas, the audience seemed to regale heartily the honed British humor.  "The Play that Goes Wrong" won the Olivier Award in 2015.  It's making its B'wy debut with a cast making their first foray on the B'wy stage.  The one redeeming cast member was Max (Dave Hearn.)  He was winsome as he couldn't contain his own glee with any adulation.  The audience seemed to love to get in on the act & the more the cast chastised the crowd the more they roared with laughter.  This outrageous production was entirely outlandish.  There is a real kind of snobbery in the UK.  I admit to feeling snobbish towards this low brow humor.  But screw it!  Like what you like.  "Laughter would be bereaved if snobbery died."  (Peter Ustinov)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Don't be shy, let me know what you think