One of the great things about living in New York is the proximity to Broadway, not to mention Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway. The Great White Way has been shut down for a year now thanks to the Covid pandemic, and recently my family was chatting (read: complaining) about how much we miss things like theater. Also concerts, parties, and normalcy, but right now we’re talking about theater!
A few years back we took the kids to the The Play That Goes Wrong. I was confused by the Playbill, which implied the play’s run had already ended. In our seats, waiting for the show to start, we were advised over the PA that a dog was loose in the theater. Also that they needed yodelers. My son, a yodeler, was begged to participate in the show. Being a strictly private yodeler, he declined. I’m not sure why it took us so long to realize that the ushers weren’t actual ushers, but anyway…the ushers weren’t ushers. The play, a murder mystery, was a mess. Props didn’t work, scenery fell constantly, lighting and sound cues went wrong, and actors ran the gamut from brilliant to terrible (which was also brilliant). In short, it was side-splittingly funny, even to my too-cool tweens.
Imagine, then, our delight upon discovering that there’s a TV version! Better–a TV spin-off. The Goes Wrong Show pulls perfectly ridiculous stunts in a series of filmed plays all performed by the same talented troupe of British actors. I could try to describe some of the jokes, but how can you truly explain why acting on a sideways set is so funny? Or how hard you can laugh at a snowman being sucked into Santa’s toy machine?
Just go watch this show. You’re welcome.
The Goes Wrong Show
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