When Everything Goes Wrong … Perfectly

FWCD’s 2024 production of The One Act Play That Goes Wrong was a whirlwind of comedic chaos. The show follows an acting troupe struggling to stage a low-budget murder mystery (The Murder at Haversham Manor) while everything that can go wrong does. Director Siouxsie Easter chose the play for its high-energy humor, calling it “the funniest play I have seen in my lifetime.”

With auditions and parts offered in August, rehearsals ran September through mid-November, shaping characters, refining physical comedy, and, in one case, hilariously mixing up “sister” and “finger” in a dramatic line. The set itself was a character – walls collapsed, doors fell off, and props had a life of their own.

Costumes, wigs and mustaches helped transport the cast to the 1920s. “I grew emotionally attached to my mustache,” said Priscilla Lambis ’25, in the Falcon Quill article “Peeking Behind the Curtain” by McCartie McPadden ’27.

Tech week pushed everyone to their limits, as it always does, but the cast and crew bonded through longstanding theatre traditions, late-night rehearsals and favorite meals. In performances, actors dashed through the audience, warming up the crowd before the lights dimmed for 65 minutes of non-stop laughter.

It was a show that, despite (or because of) all the things that went “wrong,” went oh-so-right.