Lake County Gazette

The Coal City Theatre Department is preparing to stage “The Play That Goes Wrong,” a comedy centered on a murder mystery performance where mishaps abound both on and off the stage. The play, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, features the fictional Cornley Drama Society as they attempt to perform “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” The plot follows the sudden death of Charles Haversham, described by his maid Perkins as a man with great enthusiasm for life.

Director Jack Micetich commented on this year’s production, saying, “This year’s fall play is quite different from what audiences have seen in the past few seasons. This particular cast has not had the experience of performing at the comedic level that equates to the writing of ‘The Play That Goes Wrong.’”

Micetich also highlighted the effort involved: “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, Julian Micetich, Theo Fritz, Brody D’Orazio, Gabby VanDuyne, Charlotte Banks, Aubrey Gunwald, Austin Harding, Cora Armstrong, Alex Carlson, Lexi Dearth, Maxx Kramer, and Jordan Olson. These students will portray a range of characters as well as members of the acting stage crew.

Performances are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m., all taking place at the Coal City Performing Arts Center. Reserved seat tickets can be purchased online at bit.ly/CCTheatreDept or at the door one hour before each show; on-site sales are cash only.

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 added: “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 (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). According to state data, there are 153 teachers in the district with an average salary of $69,297; nearly 78 percent are women and just over 22 percent are men (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). The district reports no teachers with more than ten absences in a school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). Demographically, about 87 percent of students are White; Hispanic students make up nearly 10 percent (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, spending per student was $21,619 for a total expenditure of over $47 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).