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The Coal City Theatre Department is preparing to stage “The Play That Goes Wrong,” a comedy centered on the fictional Cornley Drama Society as they attempt to perform a murder mystery titled “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” The production is scheduled for three performances: Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m., all at the Coal City Performing Arts Center.
The play, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, is described as “the funniest show you’ll ever see.” It features a storyline where everything that can go wrong does, both for the cast and crew.
Jack Micetich, director of the Coal City Theatre Department, noted that this year’s fall play differs from previous productions. “This year’s fall play is quite different from what audiences have seen in the past few seasons,” Micetich said. He added that the cast is working to match the comedic demands of the script: “Comedy is not easy. Our students have been putting in an incredible amount of time, creativity and energy on this production in order to make the humor feel effortless and the story compelling.”
The cast includes Mason Hamilton as Chris Bean/Inspector Carter; Julian Micetich as Johnathan Harris/Thomas Colleymoore; Theo Fritz as Robert Grove/Thomas Colleymoore; Brody D’Orazio as Max Bennett/Cecil Haversham/Arthur the Gardener; Gabby VanDuyne as Denise Tyde/Perkins; Charlotte Banks as Sandra Wilkinson/Florence Colleymore; Aubrey Gunwald as Annie Twilloil; Austin Harding as Trevor; and Cora Armstrong, Alex Carlson, Lexi Dearth, Maxx Kramer, and Jordan Olson as members of the acting stage crew.
Theo Fritz expressed anticipation for audience response: “I can’t wait to see the audience's reaction to what is likely the funniest play they will ever see.”
Director Micetich encouraged community participation: “We encourage you to take some time this weekend and join us in the Coal City Performing Arts Center as we kick-off the 2025-2026 season, it's certainly going to be a fun one and this show will leave you laughing.”
Coal City Community Unit School District 1 serves Grundy and Will counties and includes several schools such as Coal City Early Childhood Center and Coal City High School. More information about district demographics and spending can be found on its Illinois Report Card profile (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). The district reported spending $21,619 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $47 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). According to state data, its teaching staff consists of 153 teachers with an average salary of $69,297 and a majority female workforce (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). The student body is predominantly White with smaller percentages of Hispanic, Black, and Asian students (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).
Reserved seat tickets for “The Play That Goes Wrong” are available online or can be purchased at the door one hour before each performance.
