It’s often said that anything can happen in live theater. In the next comedy on the stage at the Strand Center Theater in Plattsburgh, the many mishaps are no mistake.
Adirondack Regional Theatre celebrates its 25 years in the community with a new production of The Play That Goes Wrong.
The Tony Award-winning comedy is a play within a play. As British community theatre players attempt to stage a murder mystery, everything that can go wrong does, resulting in a hilariously disastrous performance.
Director Neil Battinelli calls the play the biggest and most technically challenging show in the two and a half-decade history of ART. He says the set itself is a spectacle, featuring falling walls, a collapsing second floor, a revolving bookcase, and numerous elements that fall apart and must be meticulously reset for every show.
Contractor George Crabtree, the mastermind behind the set construction, shared insight into the immense challenges and craftsmanship involved: “First, we had to redesign the set to fit the Strand stage, keeping in mind that it cannot attach to the floor. It had to be designed in such a way that we could build it in the ART warehouse, disassemble it, and then rebuild it at the Strand. It’s been a really fun project.”
Experience The Play That Goes Wrong
The Strand Center Theater, Plattsburgh, NY
May 1, 2, 3 at 7pm
May 4 at 2pm
May 8, 9, 10 at 7pm
May 11 at 2pm
Tickets may be purchased online or at the door.
Rehearsal photos by Connor Ryan.
Time lapse footage by Justin Ihne.