The Play that Goes Wrong - Showtime Review

Newburyport High School’s production of The Play that Goes Wrong opened on November 17th. The play is a murder mystery comedy that is best described as a play within a play.  

An earlier article had the review of the prep time for this production and the behind the scenes look at how Newburyport's theatre department prepared for showtime. Last Saturday was opening night of this show and teachers, students, and families all piled into the auditorium to see it. 

Lizzy Homer, who plays Christine/Inspector Carter comments on opening night “It went very well! We had an audience of over 100 people and there were lots of laughs. It was really cool to see how the audience responded for the first time. We got to figure out what was funny and what was not. Lots of good surprises!” 

In the last article, the props and set were talked about a lot. How props are switched and the set falls apart. Finally, the audience could see how the props and preparation were put into action. Paintings were dropping off the wall when the door slammed too loud, doors had to be removed from the hinges, and entire walls pelted down. Flower vases were used as notebooks, and actors on stage had to be switched in and out due to accidents.

When asked about standout characters, it was almost unanimous that freshmen Nate Brown, who played Cecil/Arthur, was an audience favorite, although many included that every single character in the show hit their mark, and all had their own standout moments. 

Eilish Nye