The cast rehearses Monday evening for the Medicine Hat Musical Theatre's production of The Play That Goes Wrong.--NEWS PHOTO ANNA SMITH
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Medicine Hat Musical Theatre is in the home stretch for its latest show, which is hopefully not prophetically named: The Play That Goes Wrong.
The show is something of a nesting doll of stories, as it follows both a murder mystery that takes place within a manor, but on a grander scale, also the actors attempting to portray said mystery, says director David Jeffery.
Jeffery is directing his first production with this show, one which he has seen several times and is deeply passionate about.
“There’s a lot of heart in it. There’s a lot of optimism in it, but I think ultimately, it’s a comedy. So it’s silly, it’s fun, it’s relatable,” said Jeffery. “If you’ve seen a show or you’ve been in a show, because there’s a lot of things I think that other people will recognize from their own experience.”
Things are progressing well from their start in the fall, though it was reportedly agonizing to select a cast of eight players from the large pool of interested and talented actors who wanted to take part.
For some, this is one of many productions, and a reunion with longtime MHMT friends and colleagues. But for some actors, such as Jason Thompson, who plays Robert, this is the first time they’ve taken the stage.
“My character, Robert, is a little bit of a serious actor. He really feels like things are going along well, but doesn’t want to admit that there are mistakes that are taking place. So he’s very determined to keep things going, and in spite of everything that’s going on. But Robert is also playing Thomas, who is another interesting character as well, so there’s kind of layers,” said Thompson.
Despite the name of the play, any actual, unintended errors will be difficult to hide, said Jeffery, as the dialogue is very specific to the set-building magic that has been created by the technical crew, who have managed to make a set that can have every required mishap and still be able to be put back together for the next performance.
For actor Richard Grafton, who portrays the director of the in-show play, Chris, this has been an interesting look at the very human reality of putting on plays, and a mirror to his time working on many other performances.
“What I want the audience to recognize is that, in our other shows, the stuff that goes wrong is what lives on after the show, and the thing that we talk about for years to come,” said Grafton. “And so it’s been really fun to see a play that examines that and kind of brings that up for the audience to look at. So I think that the audience is really invited into some inside jokes.”
As of the interview, only 134 tickets remain for purchase, so those interested in witnessing this highly comedic piece are encouraged to act quickly to secure a seat.
