Laughter is the perfect gift this holiday season as Adams State University Theatre presents “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong.” Tickets go on sale online Monday, Nov. 13.
“The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong,” directed by John H. Taylor, Ph.D., is the 20th holiday season production the theatre department has produced since 2004. This family-friendly farce follows the antics of an amateur theatre company on the opening night of their winter play. Dr. Taylor notes: “From their pre-show activities to the final moments of their ill-fated performance, everything possible goes wrong. While giving their best effort, these actors are still perfectly awful, but wonderfully funny.”
In this 80-minute comedy written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields, it is opening night of the Cornley University Drama Society’s newest production, “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. This 1920s whodunit has everything you never wanted in a show—an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines). Nevertheless, the accident-prone thespians battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call. Part Monty Python, part Sherlock Holmes, this award–winning comedy is full of laughs and comic surprises.
“I chose to direct this play because, in these trying times, we need a little levity. It feels like we all could use some laughter to escape the realities of our world today. And during the holiday season, as we gather as family and friends, what better way to spend time together than laughing and enjoying the silly, over-the-top silly antics in this slapstick comedy,” said Dr. Taylor.
Public performances of “The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong” run at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1, 8, and 9; and 2 p.m., Dec. 3, on the San Luis Valley Federal Bank Main Stage, located in the Theatre Building. The Share the Magic benefit performance for La Puente Home is Dec. 2 and the Adams State alumni performance is 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 10. The production is sponsored in part through the generosity of Billings Electric and Valley Lock and Security.
Tickets are $13 for general public and free to Associated Students and Faculty (AS&F) with current Adams State I.D. Starting November 13, tickets may be purchased online. For telephone or in-person ticket orders, the box office number is 719-587-8499. The box office will open from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday the week before Thanksgiving and then again starting on November 27. AS&F tickets for faculty, staff, and students must be ordered through the box office
