Murder at Haversham Manor

The Play That Goes Wrong–at the Oriental Palace Theatre

Murder at Haversham Manor

Two warnings accompany this review. The first is to bring along an oxygen tank when you attend this show, because you’re going to laugh until you hyperventilate. This is, without any doubt, the funniest comedy, with more laughs per minute, than any other play, since “Noises Off.”

The second is to make sure you’re in your seats at least 15 minutes prior to curtain time. Before the scheduled entertainment begins, a pre-show performance commences. Look around you. You’ll notice a young woman in denim bib-top overalls frantically running up and down the aisles, checking under seats, calling out “Winston!” She’s Annie Twilloil, the company stage manager, and she’s looking for an escaped springer spaniel, whose portrait hangs over the fireplace. Annie’s joined by a burly, bearded young man, dressed all in black, whose name is Trevor Watson. He’s the lighting and sound operator for the play we’re about to enjoy, but he has his own agenda. In addition to finishing up some last minute repairs to the set, someone, it seems, has pinched his personal collection of Duran Duran CDs. 

Chris Bean, the bowtie-attired head of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, the amateur theatre group presenting this murder mystery, and the director of the play we’re about to see, joins the two stagehands in the audience. They frequently confer about the missing dog, and other opening night production problems, not the least of which are a myriad of technical problems. The door won’t stay shut; then it won’t open. The mantel in the English drawing room stage set keeps falling off, the push broom breaks—all temporarily fixed by the combination of a willing audience member to the rescue and yards of duct tape.

Finally, “Murder at Haversham Manor,” the play-within-the-play, begins, after Chris, in his directorial debut, welcomes the audience to his first production. He then apologizes to those theatergoers who may have attended their previous ill-fated, low budget productions, such as Chekov’s “Two Sisters,” their summer musical, “Cat,” and their holiday children’s productions of “Ugly…and the Beast” and “James! Where’s Your Peach?” As the lights dim, Annie’s still trying to attach the broken mantel but she has to give up and leave the stage. In the semidarkness, Jonathan, playing Charles Haversham, enters, trips and falls, and the lights suddenly come up on him, lying on the floor. His character is suppose to be on the chaise longue, so, as the lights go back down, Jonathan stealthily crawls onto the couch.        

The lights come back up and, to paraphrase Dickens’ Christmas Carol, Charles Haversham is dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. Charles is as dead as a doornail. Robert, playing Charles’ best schoolmate, Thomas Colleymoore, enters with Perkins, the butler, played by company member, Dennis. And, with one final breath, we’re off at full tilt on this high-speed, roller coaster ride of a farce. The other actors in this murder mystery include Max, who plays both Charles’ brother, Cecil Haversham and the family’s trusted gardener, Arthur; sexy Sandra, who portrays Florence Colleymoore, Thomas’ sister and Charles’ fiancee; and Chris who, besides directing this mystery, also plays the officious Inspector Carter. It would be a spoiler injustice to provide any further details of the plot. Suffice it say that this is one of the funniest, most fast-paced plays theatergoers will likely ever see.

The play is the brainchild of Britain’s Mischief Theatre, a company that was founded by graduates of the famed London 

Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. It began as an improv comedy group, but has gone on to write and perform original scripts all over the world. “The Play That Goes Wrong,” written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, is in its fourth successful year in London’s West End. It won England’s Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2015, and, deservedly, earned both the Drama Desk and the Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design of a Play two years later.

Chicago is truly privileged to be treated to this magnificent National Tour, in town for only two short weeks. This production is directed with the theatrical skill of a highly-caffeinated air traffic controller by Matt DiCarlo. Nigel Hook’s incredible scenic design will astound theatergoers. His stage setting is almost another character, in this comedy. Hook’s work is supported by Ric Mountjoy’s creative lighting design, Andrew Johnson’s evocative sound design, that includes Rob Falconer’s delightfully dramatic preshow music, and a series of saucy costumes designed by Roberto Surace. 

Audiences won’t believe the talent, physical skill and sheer stamina on display in this funny, frenetically-paced production. Each of the performers in this production is a star and highly deserving of the standing ovation they received opening night. Near the front of the program, be sure to read the faux advertisements, profiles of the “actors,” as well as the humorous “Letter From the President,” that Chris Bean has written for his audiences’ enlightenment. The cast includes Angela Grovey, as Annie; Brandon J. Ellis, as Trevor; and Evan Alexander Smith, as Chris, the company’s president, the director of “Murder at Haversham Manor,” and as the character, Inspector Carter. Sandra/Florence Colleymoore is played with vixen vivacity by Jamie Ann Romero; her brother Thomas Colleymoore is portrayed by deep-voiced Peyton Crim; Scott Cote plays Dennis/Perkins, the butler, who’s written some of his more difficult dialogue on his hand; Jonathan/Charles Haversham is played by Yaegel T. Welch; and, almost stealing the show with his hammy portrayal of actor, Max, Ned Noyes is absolutely hilarious as both Arthur, the gardener, and Cecil Haversham.

By the end of this production, audiences will have experienced every theatrical blunder, miscue, faux pas, snafu and slip of the tongue ever seen in a play. From guns that won’t fire (“Just die, for Christ’s sake!”) to the set completely falling apart (“Death and destruction shall prevail”), theatergoers will be gasping for air after having laughed their heads off. The final line of the play aptly declares, “Let us hope we never again see a murder at Haversham Manor.” But, every audience member can be heard saying, “Let us hope that we do!”

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas    

Presented December 5-16 by Broadway in Chicago at the Ford Oriental Palace Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago.

Tickets are available at all Broadway in Chicago box offices, the BIC Ticket Line at 800-775-2000 or online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.