venedotia

Back when you were in high school, you would often get assignments that would have you compare and contrast various things. That particular exercise doesn’t go away, especially if you are an avid theatregoer. After all, how many productions of The Sound of Music will you see over your lifetime? The story doesn’t change: What changes is the execution, and how one particular production team brings that production to life, on a different stage, with different actors. We saw that earlier this weekend with The Color Purple, where we were able to compare and contrast a production of that musical in a 74-seat black box, as compared to the original version on the Ahmanson Stage and the revival version on the Pantages stage.

We had that chance again yesterday with The Play That Goes Wrong, which is being presented for two more weekends by 5-Star Theatricals (nee Cabrillo Music Theatre). Here, the interesting contrast was between the original Broadway tour (which we saw at the Ahmanson in 2019) and a community theatre production (mounted by Canyon Theatre Guild in 2024). Here you have widely varying budgets and actor skill levels, from a Broadway-caliber touring set and a full union cast to a community theatre with no budgets for rentals and a home-grown cast (I won’t say amateur or unskilled, tho, as CTG’s talent pool often draws from local regulars as well as other theatre industry folks, but not AEA). 5-Star is somewhere in the middle: They have the budget to rent reasonable sets (although I miss the days they built their own), have a small number of AEA actors, have a casting team that identifies strong up-and-coming actors (I still remember seeing Katherine McPhee, prior to American Idol, on the Cabrillo Stage leading “Annie Get Your Gun” in 2005), and get strong directors.

First, some background to this particular play. As I wrote back in 2019:

The premise of The Play That Goes Wrong is a simple one: an amateur British theatre company, the Cornley University Drama Society, has been afforded the honour through a British-American Cultural Exchange Program of presenting a play on tour in America: The Murder at Haversham Manor, written by Susie H.K. Brideswell. Unfortunately, during the production, everything that can go wrong during the production does. Miscues. Misplaced props. Non-cooperating sets. Bad actors. Technology issues. Trying to summarize the story is pointless — the story exists only to provide a framework for the mayhem, and the mayhem is so rapid-fire that trying to describe it is (a) impossible, and (b) would destroy the humor.

The Play That Goes Wrong is a farce. Farce exaggerates things, with broad stereotypical characters, often intentionally bad acting, and extremely tight timing. Perhaps the best known example of a farce is the play Noises Off. The problem with farce is that repeat viewing often destroys the humor as you become aware of the intentional missteps. Some find the humor fresh each time; some find it diminishes. I’d avoid seeing the same farce too frequently; if you do, look for what is fresh and new in the execution.

The good news is that 5-Star has found an extremely strong cast (more on that in a sec), with a strong director that was able to bring out their playfulness. They got the timing right (or is that wrong?). They hit the humor beats, and were able to bring their own flair to the production. The bad news is that 5-Star didn’t strongly commit to the conceit of the show. I remember that the community CTG had flyers in the bathrooms and around the theatre about the missing dog (it is a plot beat in the story). They had a fake program within the real program about the Cornly University Drama Society play, with fake bios of the characters on the stage, and fake ads that had real working websites. 5-Star missed that little extra (which, truthfully, would not have cost a significant amount). Those who have seen this farce before would notice. For the T.O. audience that was new to this play, perhaps they might not; but that little extra does add to the humor.

Setting that aside, the execution was flawless (although it seems wrong to say that when discussing a play whose purpose is for everything to go wrong). They did have the pre-curtain schtick, with audience involvement. They did play with the usual opening announcements. The show was entertaining and funny, with appropriate overacting and missteps.

In many ways, the “star” of TPTGW is the set. Alas, here 5-Star didn’t take the risk of building their own set (as Canyon TG did). They rented it from Studio Tenn Theatre Company, which meant the set was shipped from Tennessee, where Studio Tenn is located. The set worked well and supported the requisite antics. Renting vs. building takes away the fun of seeing whether the company can execute the tight set building needs. As with intentional overacting, intentionally building a set (and props) that are designed to fail is an art. The rental set did that just fine; I just missed the extra local touch. However, I will note that set rental is better environmentally as set reuse prevents that large amount of waste that comes after the show ends.

Where this production shines is in the casting and the direction. Director Larry Raben brought out the playfulness in the cast, which was a mix of local and AEA talent. He got the timings precise, and knew when to play up the comedy moves to bring out the laughs. All of the cast was strong, but there were some notable highlights. The first was Gabi Manoukian as Annie, one of the stage managers. In her stage manager role, she conveys a sufficient back-stage personality to make the later uncomfortable transition to actor believable. She’s fun to watch in the opening sequences, and her closing transformation is just great. Adam Hagenbuch knocked it out of the park, both in his early portrayals of the dead Charles Haversham and his final portrayals as the same character. Justin Michael Wilcox was a strong Chris/Inspector. I particularly liked his audience interaction early on, and his (apparent) ab-libbing at points as things go awry. John Shartzer was great as Max, the seeming neophyte actor who played to the audience reaction. Hell, all of the cast was really strong, and each deserves recognition.

Should you go see this? Probably. About the only caveat might be if you’ve seen a lot of productions of TPTGW, simply because you know the beats. Still, even in that case, this is worth seeing because of the flawless execution by this cast. The Play That Goes Wrong continues at the Scherr Forum at the Bank of America Thousand Oaks Plaza Theatre, presented by 5-Star Theatricals, until March 29, 2026. Tickets are available through the 5-Star website.

Credits

The Play That Goes Wrong. A Mischief Theatre production. Written by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer. Directed by Larry Rabin.

Cast (^æ denotes members of Actors Equity): Timothy Willard Trevor Watson – Lighting and Sound Operator; Justin Michael Wilcox^æ Chris Bean – Inspector Carter & Director; Adam Hagenbuch^æ Jonathan Harris – Charles Haversham; Mark Gagliardi^æ Robert Grove – Thomas Colleymoore; Travis Joe Dixon Dennis Tyde – Perkins; Lyndsi LaRose Sandra Wilkinson – Florence Colleymoore; John Shartzer^æ Max Bennett – Cecil Haversham; and Gabi Manoukian Annie Twilloil – Stage Manager. Swings: Noah Kaplan, Smantha Lawrence-Mata, and Calaway Swanson.

Production and Creative: Larry Rabin Director; Coby Rogers Asst. Director; Olivia Riddle^æ Production Stage Manager; Morgan McDonald^æ Asst. Stage Manager; Cody Tellis Rutledge Scenic Designer; Studio Tenn Theatre Company Set Rental; Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Jonathan A. Burke Sound Design; Julia Pinhey Asst Sound Design; Isa Underdahl Sound Mixer; Alex Choate Tech Director/Prop Design; Jacob Holcombe Asst Prop Design/Crew Chief; Gail Garon Costume Design; Luis Martinez Wig and Hair Design; EK Dagenfield Production Manager; Michael Donovan Casting Director; Richie Ferris Casting Director; David Elzer Publicity; Fresh Interactive Marketing; Cindy Murray Executive Director/Producer. Also worthy of note for this production is the 5-Star crew: Destin Washington-Wolfe, Sierra Armstrong, and the Stage Crew: Cameron Probe, San Dyck Forum Technical Supervisor; Finn Traxler Forum Lighting; Ben Blonigan Forum Audio, Form Rail Operator.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

Some interesting shows that have caught my eye. Wisteria Theatre is doing Reefer Madness: The Musical (in April), as is Long Beach Playhouse (in October/November). Wisteria was overpriced for a black-box; I might look into Long Beach’s production (but have to factor in the drive). Ebony Rep is doing Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the end of May into June. I love the show, but the prices are a bit high and I’m still trying to decide. I have a hold on the calendar. Casa 0101 is doing the play version of Real Women Have Curves from the end of March into May. Conundrum Theatre is doing a bunch of shows, but notably Big Fish in December 2026. And, as noted earlier, the Colony Theatre is doing Catch Me If You Can in the September/October 2026 timeframe. I’ll look into ticketing the fall shows once I know the CTG Season, to prevent conflicts. Broadway in Hollywood has announced its 2026-2027 season, and it is spectacular. The only major shows missing are Oh Mary, Boop: The Musical, and Just In Time. I expect Oh Mary to show up at the Ahmanson, and possibly Boop; Just In Time might be in the following Broadway in Hollywood season as I haven’t seen it announce any tour dates. Perhaps some local theatre will decide to mount Real Women Have Curves – The Musical or Dead Outlaw. One can hope. I do know the Segerstrom is doing Curves in Concert on March 20, but we just can’t make it due to the distance and a busy busy March. Lastly, I’ll note Group Rep in NoHo has announced their season, which includes a mounting of Applause in the July-August timeframe. That’s useful if you missed the MTG one-nighter; I haven’t yet decided if I want to see it again (although Group Rep does a great job with older and rarely done musical re-visits).

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming

♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

March: ♦ The Play That Goes Wrong at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Here Lies Love at CTG/Mark Taper; MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Hillel; MoTAS Poker Tournament; ♦ Spamlot at BIH/Pantages.
April: ♦ Kim’s Convenience Store at CTG/Ahmanson; ♦ Ride the Cyclone at The Main; ♣ Jeremy Jordan at The Soraya; California Science and Engineering Fair at CLU; ♦ Flower Drum Song at East/West Players; ♦ Real Women Have Curves at Casa 0101. NOTE: We need judges for the California Science and Engineering Fair. If you have a degree in the sciences and are available to judge April 12 at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, sign up to judge here.
May: ♦ Falstaff at LA Opera; ♦ The Sound of Music at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Brigadoon at The Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ Hells Kitchen at BIH/Pantages.
June: ♦⊕ Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Ebony Rep; ♦ Elegies at Chromolume; ♦ Primary Trust at CTG/Taper; ♦ Mamma Mia at CTG/Ahmanson; plus whatever I schedule from the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as 🎭 Third Times The Charm, Right? | "The Play That Goes Wrong" @ 5-Star by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

cahwyguy

Last night, we saw The Color Purple at Chomolume Theatre at the Zephyr. We have a history with both, so a little digression is in order at the start. Watch out for rabbit holes.

We last saw The Color Purple at the Hollywood Pantages in June 2018. That day, we also saw The Story of My Life down the street at the Hobgoblin, a production of Chromolume Theatre as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Little did we know then (or perhaps we did — I can’t remember) that it would be the last incarnation of that iteration of Chromolume: the rest of their season (Jane Eyre, The Musical and Stephen Sondheim’s Passion). We had been Chromolume Subscribers since 2016 when we discovered them with Prez, and enjoyed two great seasons (although Hello Again was strange). In 2018, Chromolume would lose their tenancy at The Attic Theatre in West Adams, and after various kerfuffles, would go quiet until 2025, about 7 years later. Chomolume restarted in 2025 with a season consisting of First Date, I Love You Because, The Bridges of Madison County, Marry Me a Little, and Passion. All of which we had seen, and none of which we cared to see again. In fact, Passion was the last show I saw (at Boston Court) before the pandemic closed everything down. But we’ve always loved the company and what they try to do, and so we resubscribed this season. The Chromolume 2026 season is: The Color Purple, Elegies (HFF), If/Then, and Stephen Sondheim’s Roadshow (a/k/a Bounce). Most we haven’t seen, and for most of them, it is hard to imagine how they would be done in a 80-ish seat black box with no fly or orchestra space. But if any company can do it, this one can: After all, they staged Pacific Overtures in a small black box theatre.

Continuing the story/history lesson: This bring us to 2010, which is when I previously saw The Story of My Life (a two-hander musical that is just beautiful). 2010 was the disastrous year of the Pasadena Playhouse bankruptcy, when subscribers were left with donated tickets. We switched our subscription to the Colony Theatre that year; Colony later had its own financial troubles, went dark, and is slowly coming back. The Pasadena Playhouse has also returned strong: winning a regional Tony Award and doing mostly strong productions such as the just finished Amadeus (with a few misses, such as their recent Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha). Yes, we are back as members at the Pasadena Playhouse. Reading through the theatre posts about 2010 also reminded me how I (back then) hated the Pantages; now we are regular subscribers and are quite looking forward to their upcoming season.

Finishing the history lesson: This brings us to 2008, when we saw the first iteration of The Color Purple musical at the Ahmanson. That was my first time seeing the show: I had heard of the original movie with Oprah Winfrey, but hadn’t seen it. I had never read the book. I was impressed with the story and with the music, and how much of the show was sung through (and yet it didn’t feel like a sung-through musical). As I wrote then: “This is the mark of a good musical: it can use music to concisely tell story, establish people and personas, and advance the plot. The music works very well in this, even though there are very few “stand alone” songs.”

This also brings us back to The Color Purple — and I promise I’ll tie it back to that long introduction rabbit hole. Here’s how I described The Color Purple back in 2008:

“The Color Purple” basically tells the story of Celie, a young black girl in the south, knocked up by her step-pseudofather twice by the age of 14, and then married off soon after to a man who beats her to get her to obey. It is the story of the love between Celie and her sister Nettie, the story of the relationships in Celie’s life. In particular, it is about how Celie’s relationships with some strong black women make her realize that she is loved, that she does have value, that she can stand up for herself and accomplish something, and the power that love plays in it all.

That was a bit simplistic. The Color Purple is a story about love, but it is even more the story of resilience, of saying “Hell No” when people try to push you down. It is a story about love, but much less the traditional notion of romantic boy-girl love. The love in Color Purple is about the love and bond between sisters, the love and bond between women, and the love that is formed out of goodness and caring about others.

The notion of resilience is what ties this musical to the history I started with. We see resilience is the story of Chromolume Theatre, which has refused to stay down over its 24 year history (with 2 7-year breaks). We see resilience in the story of the Pasadena Playhouse, which has come back strong. We may also be seeing resilience in the story of the Colony, which looks to be recovering from its down period (and will be producing Catch Me If You Can later in the year, which we’re interested in seeing); however, the Colony isn’t yet back to doing seasons yet. Resilience is the story of small theatre in Los Angeles: a small but vital community that depends on a network of performers and audience members that believe in it, despite others thinking Los Angeles is a film center. Los Angeles is a theatre town. Its small theatres are alive. They are producing knock-out productions such as Chromolume’s The Color Purple, which according to Chromolume is almost completely sold out at the time it is opening. Who would have thought this would happen back in the days of the I Love 99 fights and Actors Equity changing the 99-seat and under rules? Of course, small theatre (just like big theatre) is rarely profitable, and theatres like Chromolume depend on your support to survive. Donate today.

Now, let’s turn our focus to this production. When Chromolume announced their season, I wondered how they might mount The Color Purple in the tiny theatre they were leasing. The Zephyr is a 74 seat thrust theatre, with no wing space, no fly space, and no orchestra space. There are barely dressing rooms, and crossing from one side of the stage to the other off-stage requires going outside through a narrow alleyway. So I was curious. How would Chromolume do this. Luckily, the recent John Doyle staging of the 2015 revival (which is the version licensed) uses minimal sets, and the directory Elijah Green built upon this. The Chromolume set consisted of a house-suggestive structure with a small triangular thrust area, and a large number of wood chairs. Green built upon this, and used every inch of the small Zephyr space to bring the story alive, including the aisle spaces within the audience area.

Green also cast the production with remarkable talent, notably Veronica Driscoll as Celie and Jodi Marks as Sofia. Driscoll was outstanding, especially in her transformation between the first and second acts and how she found her inner beauty and strength. She had a remarkable singing voice. Marks’ Sofia was also strong (we’d seen her before in 5-Star’s Frozen), especially in the second act. But all of the cast was strong: strong singing, strong dancing, strong characterizations. Others that caught my eye were Milyah Law as Doris, and Jayla Bryant’s Darlene. They were part of a trio that essentially served as a greek chorus commenting on the story. Jonathan Farrington was a strong Harpo, and Lonnie Jones III was strong as Mister. Lastly, Minque Taylor was dazzling as Shug Avery, and (although not seen as much), Shelby Williams was great as Nettie.

I’d also like to highlight one spectacular number: Miss Celie’s Pants. The dancing and the movement here was just stupendous. It was a joy to watch.

Seeing The Color Purple in an intimate space brings one closer to the story, and one notices characterizations and story aspects that get lost in the cavernous touring spaces of the Pantages or the Ahmanson, especially when one isn’t in the overpriced center orchestra seats. You can see the real emotions of the characters, see the joy in the dancers, realize story beats. It makes the story come alive in a very different way than the detached experience you get in the large houses. If you have the chance to see shows like this in intimate or smaller theatres, take it.

Were there some problems? Only some minor things. The music at times overpowered the actors. That’s unsurprising, as the small theatre doesn’t amplify the actors, and you can’t always soften the instruments. The sound without amplification is also directional, so that when actors were facing away it was harder to hear them. That’s how theatre was originally, folks, so just be aware. You can also insert my pet peeve about tattoos: the trend of “kids” these days to get tattoos is a problem in the theatre, when seeing a tattoo makes one see the performer as the modern actor, not the character. It’s something that is hard to fix as people have the right to do with their bodies as they will, and can’t easily be undone (and I’ll need to get used to it), but there are minimization techniques. But these are really at the noise level, and none really distracted.

Lighting generally did a great job of establishing the mood (and is harder in this theatre where there are no real spaces for follow spots), and costumes generally established the place and mood well.

Overall, this is a production that is well worth seeing. You can get tickets through the Chromolume website, but be aware that many shows are sold out. They may be able to extend if the demand is there, so let them know. The show currently runs through March 29.

Lastly, I generally don’t write up concerts. We had two concerts between Amadeus at the Pasadena Playhouse and The Color Purple: Mandy Gonzalez at the Broad Stage and Noel Paul Stookey at Cerritos Center. Both were excellent.