Photo by Mikki Schaffner.
Cincy Shakes brings back a crowd favorite with the with the highly requested comedy that is already breaking Box Office records!
Cincinnati, July 17, 2025 – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will launch its 2025–2026 season with an encore engagement of The Play That Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, running July 18–August 10, 2025 directed by Brian Isaac Phillips. Following the production’s sold‑out success in 2024, Cincy Shakes is thrilled to bring the hit comedy back to their stage in this encore to give audiences another chance to experience- or discover- its uproarious mayhem.
About the show: It’s Opening Night at the Cornley Drama Society’s newest production, The Murder at Haversham Manor and the stakes have never been higher. But none of the on-stage drama is in the script! The theater is filled with accident-prone actors, a corpse that can’t play dead to save his life, and a knocked-out knock out of a leading lady. When all goes wrong, can this theater company make it to Opening Night and bring down the house (in a good way)? This fantastic, farcical, fiasco of a show and Off-Broadway and West End comedic hit is back and the age-old adage is true: “the show must go wrong!” oops sorry, we mean “the show must go on!”
Since its debut in London in 2012, The Play That Goes Wrong has become a global phenomenon. Its success caught the eye of producer-director J.J. Abrams, who brought the play to Broadway in 2017, where it was met with enthusiastic acclaim. This slapstick comedy has since become a favorite of theater companies nationwide, delighting audiences with its blend of physical comedy, witty dialogue, and sheer theatrical disaster. After 2024’s “must see” production, Cincy Shakes is thrilled to bring the madness back this summer with the encore of The Play That Goes Wrong!
Directed by CSC’s Producing Artistic Director and CEO, Brian Isaac Phillips, the returning cast of The Play That Goes Wrong, Billy Chace, Jeremy Dubin, Jared Earland, Candice Handy, Matthew Lewis Johnson, and Kelly Mengelkoch, is ready to bring the house down one more time. New cast members Montez Jenkins Copeland, Cary Davenport, and Sylvester Little Jr. join the ensemble for this encore.
The production’s creative team includes Samantha Reno (Scenic Design), who creates the perfect set for chaos to ensue, and Rainy Edwards (Costume Design), who dresses the actors in era-appropriate attire that adds to the humor. Alice Trent (Lighting Design) illuminates the stage to enhance the comedic mishaps, while Chris Guthrie (Sound Design) provides sound effects that punctuate every comedic turn. Gina Cerimele-Mechley (Fight Choreography) choreographs the slapstick and physical comedy, and Kara Eble Trusty (Properties Design), with coordination done by Alice Hopkins, ensures that every prop plays its part in the calamity. Stage Manager Cole Sweasy and Assistant Stage Manager Danitza Piper keep the backstage chaos under control.
The Play That Goes Wrong runs from July 18 – August 10, 2025. Performances of The Play That Goes Wrong are on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, with 3 Saturday Matinees at July 26, August 2, & 9, and 3 Sunday matinees on July 27, August 3, & 10 at 2:00 PM. CSC offers performances with accessibility resources. Live Audio Descriptions are available on July 18, and there is a Sign Language Interpreted performance on August 10.
Tickets are on sale now. Preview performances are on Wednesday, July 16, and Thursday, July 17, with half price tickets. Discounts are available for students, seniors, local residents, and community partners. Each performance night has a limited number of $14 “Access” tickets in the Upper Gallery. These can be purchased in advance by going online or calling the Box Office. And starting 1 hour before each performance, any unreserved tickets may be available as a discounted Rush Ticket to anyone, not just students. These tickets are only $12 and could be located anywhere in the house, depending on that evening’s availability. These cannot be reserved more than 1 hour before a show and must be purchased in person in the Box Office. Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Ticketing fees apply. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at http://www.cincyshakes.com.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is located at The Otto M. Budig Theater at 1195 Elm Street in OTR, adjacent to Washington Park. Many parking spaces are available on the street and in nearby lots and garages- for more information, visit http://www.otrchamber.com/pages/WheretoPark.
CSC has coordinated a prepaid self-parking option right next door to the theater for a hassle‐free, guaranteed spot. A limited number of reserved spaces are available starting 2 hours before performances and lasting through the end of the show. The parking attendant will have your name on the list with advance purchase, guaranteeing your spot and price. Visit www.cincyshakes.com/parking to reserve self-parking.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s 2025-2026 Season is generously presented by our Operating Support Partners: The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation; The Linnemann Family Foundation; The Ohio Arts Council; The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation; The National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest; The Shubert Foundation; Maureen and John Bridgeland, Cindy Bridgeland Crilley, and Debby and Jim Mason in honor of Jim Bridgeland; Lightborne, and the tens of thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign.
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About Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for all. In the summer of 2017, the theater relocated to the Otto M. Budig Theater, a brand new facility in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. CSC’s repertoire is composed of the works of William Shakespeare, literary adaptations, world premieres, and contemporary classics. CSC performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with the Actors’ Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare is a member of Theater Communications Group and Shakespeare Theatre Association. Each year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reach more than 50,000 young people and community members by meeting audiences where they are. This includes sharing programming in schools, parks, community centers and hosting educational matinees of mainstage productions. In 2015, CSC was proud to become one of the first five theaters in the United States to “Complete the Canon” by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. CSC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to be Cincinnati’s stage for the Classics!
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