In August 2022, the Searcy Summer Dinner Theatre premiered “The Play That Goes Wrong.” BroadwayWorld Arkansas nominated the production for seven awards, and it received five awards in January including best play overall. The awards represent excellence across professional, educational and community theaters across the region.
“The Play That Goes Wrong” features a comedic murder mystery in the 1920s. The characters are attempting to perform an embedded story, The Murder at Haversham Manor. Mayhem breaks across the set as characters misplace props, set pieces break and the actors break character. It creates a fun, engaging atmosphere in which the audience can participate.
“It is an honor to be nominated, and a joy to win,” said Frye. “It speaks to the quality of our patrons, our productions, and most of all, to the creative talent of our people who constantly prove that theater is alive and well in Searcy, Arkansas at Harding University.”
Senior Asher Patten, who won the award for best performer in a play, reflects on the joy that the production brought, both with his fellow cast and the energy of the audience.
“It was one of the most fun experiences I have had on any set or stage, and our cast was so full of spirit and fun,” said Patten. “We just genuinely had a blast being together for the whole summer. When the show opened, each night was different as the audience would respond to different bits uniquely, and it would sort of shift the energy, or our reaction to things in the moment. It just felt like a really fun improv exercise with a script as a guideline. It was so great, and I’ll never forget it.”
2022 BroadwayArkansas Awards won by Searcy Summer Dinner Theatre for “The Play that Goes Wrong”
- Best Play
- Best Costume Design Of A Play Or Musical (Katy White)
- Best Direction Of A Play (Steven Frye)
- Best Performer In A Play (Asher Patten)
- Best Scenic Design Of A Play Or Musical (Seth Fish)
- Best Play
Learn more about the 2022 BroadwayArkansas Awards.
Original source can be found here.
