Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at Murry's Dinner Playhouse Keeps You Laughing from Beginning to End

It is always a treat to go to Murry's Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Col Glenn Rd., in Little Rock, for some fine feasting and fabulous entertainment. Murry's has been entertaining Central Arkansas since 1967 and is still going strong, even after the pandemic. To add to the list of fabulous shows presented, this is the first time Murry's has tackled THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. This family-friendly show continues through Saturday, Nov. 19, and will keep you laughing from beginning to end.

First, let's talk about the delicious buffet. I love eating at Murry's. The food is always tasty. I always try to have a little bit of everything, just so I can confirm the tastiness that is presented. I tried the Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles, the Blackened Cod with Lemon Beurre Blanc, and Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs. For vegetables, I had the Green Beans and the giant Broccoli with Cheese Sauce, and when I say giant....this is the biggest piece of broccoli I have ever seen and eaten....seriously! The salad bar was beautiful with color and freshness, but I still drowned mine in Thousand Island. And if all of that wasn't enough, the desserts are the reason we don't make second plates from the buffet. I had the Cheesecake, which is in the shape of a ball with graham cracker crumbs on it. It is sooooooooo creamy and worth the buffet price by itself. I also tried the Oreo Fluff and Peanut Butter Mousse. Those are also good, but that cheesecake!!!!!

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is a play within a play. Directed by Roger M. Eaves, who is playing a director named Trevor, The Hardly Drama Society is performing THE MURDER AT HAVERSHAM MANOR, a 1920s era whodunit. Jonathan Harris' character Charles Haversham (Timothy Cooper) has been murdered, or so it seems, and Inspector Carter, played by Hardly Drama's actor Chris Bean (Thomas Cooper), is on the scene to find out who the murderer is. It could have been the butler Perkins, played by Hardley's actor Dennis Tyde (Christopher Straw); It could have been Charles' fiancé Florence Colleymoore, who is played by Hardley's actress Sandra Wilkinson (Katherine Yacko), who gets knocked out and needs to be replaced by the stage manager Annie (Paige Reynolds), who is reading her lines from a book; It could have been Charles' brother Cecil Haversham, who is played by Hardly's Max Bennett (Quinn Gasaway), who is eating up the audience's applause and exaggerates his character more and more as the show progresses; or it could have been Florence's brother Thomas Colleymoore, who is played by Hardly's Robert Grove (Mark Hansen), who is over protective of his sister. Did you get all of that?

Watching the actors play actors is so much fun to watch. They open with the Hardly actors getting ready for the play, trying to find a dog and looking for a Duran Duran CD. Then once Haversham has started, they keep stepping on the dead guy's hand, they knock out the leading lady, so the stage manager steps in, they have to keep repeating lines until the butler remembers what comes next, and they end up drinking poison several times. And this is just some of the shenanigans that goes on during this play. They were all hilarious, but I will confess that Gasaway made me laugh the most. This high energy group is a top-notch set of performers who kept the comedy coming through the whole production. I loved it!

For tickets or information on upcoming shows, visit their website at https://murrysdp.com, or call 501.562.3131. Up next is DISNEY'S LITTLE MERMAID. I expect this one to be popular, so reserve your seats early.

To post a comment, you must register and login.