New Musical "The Wrong Box" with the Dry Brit Wit of "The Play Goes Wrong" Goes Amiss

"The Wrong Box" at the Theater for the New City is a musical comedy music, book & lyrics by Kit Goldstein Grant.  The play is set outside London in the late 19th C.  "The Wrong Box" corresponds with the slapstick British antics in the Broadway hit "The Play Goes Wrong."  Grant's original score/lyrics "The Wrong Box" has a motley medley of musical numbers and an earnest cast that delivers on several numbers.  Two-first rate musical numbers were "Bundle Up" and "Play the Game" mostly owed to two charming actors and their pleasing voices.  Julia (Jiazi Colon-Soto) and Michael (Brian Kilday) who brought ample mirth to their eccentric characters accompanied by a live quartet on stage.  The musicians comprised a pianist, flutist/clarinetist, bass and drums/percussion on stage.   The plot is intentionally supercilious but stumbles over itself do to the multitudionous "boxes" & suitcases situated on the small stage that are constantly being shifted, re-shuffled and rolled away.  The plot contains 2 insidious plans motivated by financial gains and are inter strewn by a mischievous minded dolt who finds it a deliciously clever idea to switch address labels on the boxes loaded in steerage on a train for the pleasure of trickery & disappointment upon delivery.  Therein lies a weak plot but the basis for a seriously consequential mix-up caused by "The Wrong Box."  "The Wrong Box" asks a lot from the audience in order for the musical to maintain a hilarious note.  The choreography & staging gets tripped up in the over abundances of boxes & oftentimes, by too many actors on stage.  Still, there are plenty of moments of devilish fun and light romance.  Less would be more in turning "The Wrong Box" into a precise winning musical score.