A million little things have to go right at any given performance of The Play That Goes Wrong for the hilariously crowd-pleasing farce to fall to pieces with precision.
The show’s perfect storm of mishaps that bedevil a college drama society production of an old-fashioned murder mystery requires spot-on timing and physical readiness from its game cast.
In the Mischief Theatre touring company currently bringing down the house at the Kennedy Center, that cast includes Harlem native Kai Heath, who portrays Annie, the overtaxed stage manager for The Murder at Haversham Manor, the play within the play.
Anni is also, according to the cheeky Playbill within the Playbill, “the unsung hero of the Society.” She’s designed, built, painted, stage-managed, and costumed every drama society production for the last three years. So she’s responsible for all those Haversham Manor sets, props, decor, and costumes that go completely, madly haywire.
The Play That Goes Wrong — Photo: Jeremy Daniel
Some might say, then, that Annie is to blame for a lot of what goes wrong in The Play That Goes Wrong. Is she a secret saboteur?
“I’ve yet to hear that viewpoint,” says Heath, with a laugh, though she’s serious about standing up for her character. “This particular Annie — the Annie that is played by moi — I believe is coming in kind of last-minute.”
As Heath attests, and as anyone who’s seen the play, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields and directed by Matt DiCarlo, would agree, Annie is most definitely a team player.
“[She] pops right on in to be a part of the team to complete the story,” says Heath. “This [show] was a last-minute thing for Annie, just trying to meet some last-minute requirement, pick up a little job, but it ends up requiring a lot more of her than what she expected.”
The only cast member who hadn’t done the show before this run, Heath can relate to the team spirit, noting that she feels like a rookie among all-stars. “In a way, I feel in such safe hands,” she says. “But [I’m] also like, ‘Hope I don’t mess up what you guys got going, that’s got you winning all these championships.'”
There wasn’t much time to get up to championship speed, with Heath afforded just two weeks of rehearsal. “When someone from the cast was like, ‘Normally I have five weeks.’ I was like, ‘Whoa!’ That does make me feel like I’m not going so crazy.”
Judging by the extremely funny onstage results, she’s clearly hit her stride. “The first week [of rehearsal], it was myself and the understudies, just so I could learn my way around the set,” says Heath, who started working with the rest of the cast in week two of rehearsal. That was the first of two key pieces to cracking the code of going wrong, she recalls.
The final piece, of course, was the audience.
“Because they’re just so much,” Heath marvels. “The audience response is fueling what I’m doing, particularly for Annie. So yeah, those are the two big missing pieces that when they finally came, made me feel like, ‘Okay, I think I got this? I think I got it.'”
The Play That Goes Wrong runs through August 13, in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $39 to $159. Call 202-467-4600, or visit www.kennedy-center.org.
Lesbian comedian Jessica Kirson has publicly apologized for performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, saying she has since donated her entire performance fee.
Part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan to position the kingdom as a global cultural and entertainment hub, the festival drew widespread condemnation from fellow comedians and human rights organizations.
Kirson said she initially viewed the invitation as a chance to give voice to those repressed in the region.
"I'd like to express my sincere regret for having performed under a government that continues to violate fundamental human rights," she wrote in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "I requested a guarantee that I could be openly out as a lesbian on stage and perform gay material. I hoped that this could help LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia feel seen and valued."
Little by little, year after year, from one season to the next, there have been some subtle yet certain shifts in programming among local classical music organizations -- in both good and not-so-good ways, depending on whether you like, say, holiday sing-alongs come Christmastime. If you do, well, good for you, but boo hoo for the rest of us, because that's definitely on the uptick this season, as in previous years. Similarly, if Halloween is more your jam, you're also in luck, because there's also been a slight increase in the number of eerily inspired, scary-themed shows.
There's also more diversity all around, and in multiple senses of the term -- from slightly more female composers with works being performed around town, to more genre- and boundary-pushing works and programs overall, to seemingly more out, LGBTQ-identified people in this particular genre.
'Tis a season for celebrating significant milestones in dance, including an amazing honor for one of the most revered names ever to be associated with the art form. The Martha Graham Dance Company, appearing in 2026 at the Kennedy Center, will be marking its 100th year sharing founder Graham's singular vision of movement.
The company's major anniversary, along with many others over the 2025-26 season, offers sweet reassurance that dance is forever and shall remain. Meanwhile, a full menu of new works on tap represents what keeps dance moving forward.
Audiences can relish revisiting beloved perennials, like some of the most exciting Nutcrackers you'll find anywhere, and catch up with companies who've been doing this for decades -- from Mark Morris Dance Group and Pilobolus, visiting twice this season, to the Washington Ballet.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.