Currently in its 47th season of bringing live shows and entertainment to Aggieland, MSC OPAS will host the award-winning Broadway play “The Play That Goes Wrong” in Rudder Auditorium this week.
On Feb. 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m., members of the Bryan-College Station community are invited to see “a riotous explosion of comedy,” according to The Daily Beast. Tickets to the “gut-busting” whodunnit-farce can be purchased through the MSC OPAS website or on-campus at the MSC box office.
Committee chair for MSC OPAS and communication senior McKenzie Starnes said the meta-comedy production is a continuous cycle of events that go terribly wrong, forcing the blindsided actors to get the show-within-a-play back on track.
“From people forgetting their lines to the stage falling apart, everything keeps going wrong throughout the entire show,” Starnes said. “You never really get to the plot of it other than just hoping things will come together.”
When MSC OPAS decided to bring the production to A&M, one of the organization’s intentions was to cater to both the general audience they normally attract, as well as attempting to reach audiences they do not normally see in the theater, Starnes said.
“This play is really great because it can appeal to both people who love the theater and come to every single one of our shows, as well as people who maybe just aren’t that wild about theater,” Starnes said. “Maybe they think theater is overly dramatic and cheesy, but this play
makes fun of theater in a way and doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
Director of fundraising and computer science junior Eric Weiss said he has already seen the play on Broadway and hopes B-CS residents will walk away from the show with the same smile he had after his first viewing.
“I went to go see it in New York a few years ago and everyone loved the comedy of the show,” Weiss said. “I hope that people who go and watch it are able to relax and enjoy a good, comedic play.”
Director of operations and finance junior Stanzi Rowe said she is excited MSC OPAS is bringing a non-musical Broadway show because it is uncommon for the plays themselves to be on Broadway.
“‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ is unique in the fact that, on Broadway, they usually only do musicals,” Rowe said. “However, this play had Broadway-level caliber, and it did really well in New York so we are excited to bring it to audiences here.”
Rowe said by bringing a non-musical Broadway show to A&M, she hopes people will appreciate and open themselves to new types of productions MSC OPAS can bring to the community.
“Obviously, we really want people to laugh,” Rowe said. “We also want to show people that MSC OPAS has a broad range of programs that we bring. If people like this one, maybe they will want to check out the next one. Not everyone likes musicals, but to show people that we are bringing so many different things to campus that can appeal to everyone is important.”