(Posted 8/23/23) By Fern Siegel

It takes extraordinary skill to master physical comedy and parody at the same time. But the ensemble behind The Play That Goes Wrong, which moved off-Broadway after a successful Broadway run in 2017, is just the ticket.

And it’s a delightful way to spend a summer’s afternoon or evening.

Moving to the New World Stages in 2021, the show is actually a play within a play. It combines farce, word play, visual gags and hilarious missed cues. And it’s a master class in comedic timing.

The premise for The Play That Goes Wrong: It’s a performance of a 1920s murder mystery, The Murder at Haversham Manor. And it’s staged by the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, the kind of production that lists one person as producer-director-costume designer-box office manager and dialect coach.

All the mainstays — the narcissistic mugging actor, the vamp — are played to great effect, aided by the endless malaprops. Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, TPTGW, which won an Olivier in the West End and a Tony on Broadway, opens with the murder of Charles Haversham (Clyde Voce) and is investigated by Inspector Carter (Chris Lanceley). It’s all the British murder mystery tropes gone awry. Think Agatha Christie’s usual suspects, but done by amateurs in the provinces.  

The corpse has a crazy way of showing up at the oddest times. So do the play’s additional cast, including Charles’ idiotic brother (Adam Petherbridge), the dead man’s fiancée (Caroline Chu), her loud, obnoxious brother (Brent Bateman) and a klutzy butler (Trevor Braun). All run roughshod over events. Two stagehands, (Ashley N. Hildreth and Julian Robertson), add to the chaos.

Director Matt DiCarlo has a nimble cast that is laugh-out-loud funny. They don’t miss a beat. (In the August 19 performance, Sid Solomon was excellent as the inspector.) Together, they prove that something gone so wrong, superbly executed, is always right. 

Another summer plus is Monday Night Magic. The production, which used to play at the Player’s Theatre in Greenwich Village, is currently performing at Monte’s Trattoria at 97 MacDougal Street. And for those who want to see dinner theater in a new light, it’s a treat.

Monte’s, an intimate Italian restaurant that dates from 1918, is a trip back in time. But Monday Magic is performed in an upstairs room within the establishment. The tricks are performed inches from the eye – but so fast and expert – you can scarcely believe what you’re seeing. Close-up magic is done at the table during the meal — a big wow factor. Then the on-stage show begins.

Sleight of hand is always fascinating — and the magicians, Mike Patrick, Daniel Harel and Michael Chaut, are a singular sensation. Tricks range from rope, rings, Rubik’s cube, cards and coins — all hugely entertaining. Plus, mentalist tricks, including names, dates, psychology cards, numbers and an especially clever effort with a notarized prediction, were amazing.  

The magician roster varies each week. This fall, the show moves to The Cutting Room at 44 East 32 St in Manhattan.