Each year, FSU’s School of Theatre dazzles audiences with sold-out performances. The 2025-2026 season has been nothing short of incredible, from Sweeney Todd and You on the Moors to Junie B. Jones and Footloose. Now, the season is closing out with one of the most insane shows you’ll ever see: The Play That Goes Wrong.
It’s important to note, however, that I’m a biased source. As a School of Theatre (SoT) student myself, I take part in shows throughout the seasons. This semester, I’m the calling stage manager of The Play That Goes Wrong, meaning I’ve seen firsthand the madness that goes onstage for this one.
What’s the Show?
You won’t be surprised to learn that in The Play That Goes Wrong, things go, well… wrong. The key is that this is a show within a show.
The official description of the SoT’s production reads, “As their murder mystery unravels into a symphony of theatrical disasters, these plucky performers prove that even when everything goes hilariously wrong, the show must go on!”
The show centers around the Cornley Drama Society putting on the fictional play The Murder at Haversham Manor. As the audience, you’ll walk into the theatre and be introduced to this whodunit murder mystery play as if it’s a real work written by a real playwright.
The most exciting part of The Play That Goes Wrong, though, is that elements of this fictional show begin to fall apart before the audience’s eyes. Props go missing, lines are messed up, and several panic-inducing disasters happen, though I won’t spoil what.
What You Should Expect
As the stage manager of this show, I’ll be the first to tell you, it’s one of the funniest shows I’ve ever worked on or seen. Truly, calling the cues for this show will be a “try not to laugh” challenge for me. The only catch is that if I laugh, I might mess up a technical cue, so here’s to hoping that doesn’t happen.
The show is a farce comedy, meaning it relies on the absurdity of the situation the characters are put into. There’s improv, slapstick, and chaos that continually build through the show’s fast pacing. If you’re not much of a slapstick fan, there’s plenty of wit to the script, too. Several jokes throughout the show rely on wordplay, irony, and rapid-fire sarcasm. All the while, you get the added layer of a murder mystery!
The incredible technical elements in this show will absolutely blow you away, but you’ll have to see it for yourself. Performances will be in the Fallon Theatre, letting these technical elements really shine to their fullest potential. The SoT advises audiences, though, that this show has mild suggestive humor, references to murder and suicide, firearm prop, loud noises, use of stage blood, flashing lights, fog, and escalating violence.
Even as someone involved with the production, I find myself in constant awe and admiration of the team behind the show. The Play That Goes Wrong has always been a favorite of mine, not just because of the comedic genius it requires from the artistic team and company, but also because of the sheer planning and organization that allows the hilarity to ensue.
By the time you leave the theatre, you’ll share my admiration for the cast, the scenic team, the technical team, the crew, and the deck stage management team, who all combine their skills and talents to craft what I consider one of FSU’s most impressive shows to date.
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