Six years ago, “The Play That Goes Wrong,” Mischief Theatre’s knockabout farce about a clueless attempt by an amateur theater group to put on a melodramatic 1920s murder mystery, came to Broadway and later transferred to Off-Broadway’s New World Stages, where it continues to run today.
Now comes a sequel,” “Peter Pan Gone Wrong,” in which the Cornley Drama Society attempts to stage “Peter Pan” in spite of numerous mishaps. It will play a limited run at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre beginning March 17.
Other Mischief Theatre shows and TV specials have included “The Comedy About a Bank Robbery,” “Magic Goes Wrong,” “A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong,” and “Nativity Goes Wrong.”
‘Ohio State Murders’ ends Broadway run early
The Broadway premiere of the dark drama “Ohio State Murders,” which stars six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and marks the first play ever staged on Broadway by the 91-year-old experimental Black playwright Adrienne Kennedy, will end its limited run earlier than scheduled on Sunday, Jan 15, assumedly due to low ticket sales. During recent weeks, it has been unable to even sell more than half the seats in the theater.
It marked the first show to play at the former Cort Theatre since it was physically renovated and renamed as the James Earl Jones Theatre. In the play, a writer (McDonald), in the course of delivering a college lecture, looks back on the tragedy she endured at the same location years earlier.
Was school production of ‘Indecent’ canceled because of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law?
Nowadays, when a school production of a well-known play gets canceled under mysterious circumstances, it often becomes major news thanks to social media uproar.
Last week, a Florida school canceled a production of “Indecent” (Paula Vogel’s haunting and poignant exploration of the history behind the incendiary Jewish melodrama “God of Vengeance,” which featured a kiss between two women), leading to a debate over whether the play was canceled due to Florida’s newly passed Parental Rights in Education Law (i.e. “Don’t Say Gay” law).
On social media, Vogel urged the school to reconsider its decision. “Why cancel ‘Indecent’ rather than structuring post-play discussions? It is a unique way to look at the Holocaust as well as gender and censorship and antisemitism,” Vogel wrote.
Brightman returns to ‘Beetlejuice’ following concussion
Two weeks ago, Alex Brightman (who plays the title role in “Beetlejuice”) suffered a concussion during a Christmas Eve performance, leading to speculation that he would be unable to rejoin the show before its final performance on Sunday, Jan. 8.
However, following “two weeks of extreme rest, recovery, and reassessment,” Brightman announced on Instagram that he would return for the show’s final performances, which began Friday night, Jan. 6.
Brightman’s anarchic persona as Beetlejuice was a key reason that the show gained such a potent social media following and managed to hang on despite negative reviews back in 2019.
Composer shares tracks of ‘Paradise Square’ cast album on social media
Due to the legal issues surrounding the collapse of the 2022 Broadway musical “Paradise Square,” it is currently unclear whether and when its previously recorded cast album can be officially released. Nevertheless, composer Jason Howland has posted what appear to be tracks from the cast album on his Instagram page. “Can’t release the cast album for ‘Paradise Square,’ but CAN share promo videos for it loosely synced to footage people filmed from their phones,” Howland wrote.
