On any given night lately, Cape Fear Regional Theatre can be found with a packed audience roaring with laughter. On stage, everything is going wrong. While in any normal play circumstance, this would be a disaster, here its a beautifully crafted, well-acted body of art. This time, everything that goes wrong feels oh so right. 

 

While CFRT usually puts on a good show, this one is an exceptional work of comedy. Farce is always hard, according to its director, Laura Josepher, but the actors in The Play That Goes Wrong have hit the mark wonderfully. From the fake snow to a lost dog, each mishap during the scenes brings a new bout of laughter from the audience that may keep them laughing for days after. 

 

Sometimes in plays it is easy to pick out key actors who steal the show; it would be hard to say any one actor out-performed his or her counterparts. Jonathan-Judge Russo, a returning actor to the stage at Cape Fear Regional Theatre, and Charlie Turner are seemingly meant for farce. The timing of jokes, expressions and line delivery was on-point for both of these actors. Mitchell Stephens, who plays in the show as the "director" and is the choreographer for the play as well, embodies a worried, at-wits-end play director that at some point seems to give up on trying to keep his show together. Matthew Stuart Jackson, Amber French and Cerina Johnson are ridiculous, as needed by their parts, and will keep any scene filled with laughter from the pure bad acting their parts demand. 

 

The props and stage decorations for The Play That Goes Wrong were probably either the least impressive part, only because the bar was set so high by its actors, or perhaps one of the most. While this may seem contradictory, in a play pretending to be a play where everything goes wrong, it is very hard to tell what is intended to be roughly made and not hit the quality that the production company usually strives to hit. Now, the disintegration and destruction of the set are absolutely hilarious, well-timed and 100 percent intentional. This will provide a few enjoyable surprises for any show-goer. Again, however, it in no way outshines any of the actors' performances. 

 

The Play That Goes Wrong is a beautiful, non-stop-laughter-inducing performance. If ever there was a time to visit the local theatre, now is the time. If facial pain from laughing and tight stomach muscles in the morning are the best course of treatment, it is definitely the prescription.