The Play That Goes Wrong (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

"Dropped lines and dropped props are the order of the day, and the players miss their marks with broad comic precision...Subtlety is not the show’s strong suit — though the script has some witty touches amid all the clockwork-timed slapstick silliness, under Mark Bell’s fine direction...For much of its two-hour running time, 'The Play That Goes Wrong' offers a hilarious tribute to the spirit of the theater and the mantra that the show must go on — served up with a thick slice of ham."
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"Outrageous with collapsing props, melodramatic acting, and missed cues, this Olivier Award-winning play within a play ropes you in as soon as you take your seat...The timing is precise and the approach deliberate. It would not work without the meticulous timing that makes everything run smoothly as it falls apart...Yes, it could have been snipped here and there, but if you are up for a good-time catastrophe, 'The Play That Goes Wrong' is just right."
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“Until you’ve seen it, you will not imagine how inventive, impulsive, surprising and artful a stellar set like this one can be. Of course a farce needs direction, and Mark Bell has staged it brilliantly, conducting it as though it were a major symphonic work…You will find this delicious piece of merriness a genuine spring tonic. Our British cousins have always favored farce, more than we do over here, and when served up as expertly as this, we can understand why.”
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"'The Play That Goes Wrong' should be funny because everyone is trying to make it go right, but instead we are offered a series of implausible, high-pitched, over-the-top exercises that have more in common with an overlong improv sketch than a carefully planned Broadway comedy."
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"A hilarious romp about eye-poppingly shoddy theatrics...Since the premise is so thin, I didn’t think Act Two could sustain the same level of mirth, but somehow it did, keeping up a giddily daft 'Carol Burnett Show'-style slapstick throughout. Something as silly as this could only work if it was put together with serious craft, and it was, like a pristinely assembled jigsaw puzzle that, when put together, makes you scream with laughter. Kudos to director Mark Bell."
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"If slapstick isn't your thing, then turn around now. This farce is not for you. But if goofiness makes you giggle, then 'The Play That Goes Wrong' may leave you gasping for breath...A symphony of silliness, with the set falling apart piece by piece, often conking an actor's head in the process. It starts off funny and just gets funnier. I have some quibbles. Cutting a good 15 minutes or so (as well as the intermission) would make it swifter...But otherwise, this play is just good fun."
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"Although I already saw it in London, I laughed as much this time as I did last time...There’s verbal humor, lots and lots of physical humor that requires synchronization, and visual humor, too. The comedy is lowbrow and the audience’s laughter becomes contagious...The rain had been coming down steadily all day in NYC, making it cold, wet and unpleasant, the political world was roiling with intrigues and dissension, but 'The Play That Goes Wrong' was a happy place."
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"This production takes metatheatricality to an entirely new level...Throughout it all the entire audience could not stop laughing...More than most shows, this was absolutely an ensemble piece, and every member of the acting and creative team is deserving of praise...The comedy, stage magic, and physicality of this show was impeccably timed and shockingly precise...Without a doubt, 'The Play That Goes Wrong' is the funniest play Broadway has ever seen."
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