After 30 years of putting on plays for Hot Springs, the Pocket Community Theatre's next play will go wrong. But that's OK -- it's supposed to.
Premiering tonight, "The Play That Goes Wrong" will run for two weeks at the local playhouse.
Billed as a "play within a play," the premise of the show takes place at a performance by the fictitious Cornley University Drama Society. During the performance of "The Murder at Haversham Manner," several flubs take the show off the rails, leading to comedic situations. Everything from prop malfunctions to forgotten lines -- the title says it all.
"Everything that an actor could fear going wrong on stage, goes wrong," said James Kendall, director of the play.
After a three-month production and several minor injuries (including a concussion and a sprained shoulder) the cast and crew are ready to break a leg.
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Kendall first saw the show on Broadway in 2018, falling in love with it and how funny it was. Marrying the next year, Kendall brought his new wife, Tami, to see the show on their honeymoon.
"We both agreed, if this ever becomes available for community theater, we've got to do it," he said. "Luckily for us, it became available last year."
Being special to both husband and wife, Tami Kendall is the stage manager on the play. Unlike most plays, the crew actually takes center stage in this show, causing all the mayhem for the audience's enjoyment.
"This show has an amazing crew backstage, because it's part of the show," Tami Kendall said. "So, things that go wrong, we're actually the ones making everything go wrong."
James Kendall agreed the crew is invaluable in pulling off the show, noting the cast is more than just the actors, but also the crew and the set, which was built by his wife to fall apart. He also noted his satisfaction with the cast as they have had to step outside of the normal formula of learning lines and executing tasks perfectly.
"What we're doing in this show, is we're asking them to perform the show absolutely crazy," James Kendall said.
There will be several Pocket Theatre regulars as well as a young man from Little Rock who is exceptionally funny, he said. The couple noted the show has come together nicely thanks to everyone involved in the cast and crew, as well as the lighting tech, the soundboard operator and everyone else involved.
Because of their focus on safety, they have limited the injuries in the demanding play to minor bumps and bruises.
"It's probably the most complex show that we've done at the Pocket Theatre in the eight years I've been here," James Kendall said.
To purchase tickets, visit https://www.pockettheatre.com/, or visit their Facebook page. Performances for the two-week show start today with showtimes at 7 p.m. for Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.