Unpredictable Comedy 'Play On!' Premieres Friday

What do you get when you have a theater troupe preparing to put on a play, a script that's constantly in revision and troublesome, unpredictable props? You have a tasty recipe for a laugh-out-loud comedy. 

The complete cast and crew of the Ankeny Community Theatre production "Play On!" will debut in front of their first audience on Friday night. Barb Wagner, the show's director, describes it as a "play within a play."

The comedy was penned by the late playwright Rick Abbot.

The show is about a cast of actors attempting to rehearse and, with a little practice and lots of bad luck, perform a melodramatic mystery written by eccentric playwright Phyllis Montague, played by Debi Garner of Ankeny. 

"The very first act is set four days before the play is to open and she is still bringing them revisions to the script." Wagner said. 

The second act involves the final dress rehearsal where, yet again, Montague is making changes and throwing the cast through a loop. 

In the final act, things really heat up.

"Absolutely everything that can go wrong in a play goes wrong." Wagner said. "There are trees falling over, actors messing up lines." 

A few characters even stumble their way through the show after a few too many libations. 

All of those elements make for good fun but because of the unpredictable format, Wagner said it's a challenging production to stage.

"It is the hardest show I've ever directed," said Wagner, who's directed shows in and around Des Moines for 16 years. "I'm just glad I'm directing and not (starring) in it… These actors have done so well."

Actor Kent Hartwig of Des Moines agreed the show has been a tough one to master. He's starring in his first production with the Ankeny Community Theatre.

"It's been a lot of work," said Hartwig, who plays Saul Watson. "Because that first act is just like an actual rehearsal, there's a lot of starting and stopping and repeating of lines with one or two word changes." 

Ankeny's Greg Myers, who plays Billy Carawe, points to the third act and its opportunity for a hefty amount of improvisation.

"Because the production (within the play) goes completely wrong we can ad-lib all we want towards the end, which is really cool," Myers said.

One actor who claims to have a somewhat easier role playing the director within the show is Karen Swift of Ankeny. She's been starring in and working on productions at the theater since the mid-1980s.

"I'm not having to go from character to character, but I have a lot of lines - a lot of similar lines," Swift said. "We've worked really well together and I appreciate the team effort everyone's put into it."

Wagner said the show is family-friendly and definitely worth seeing.

“If you want to just let loose and have a great time, this is your show,” Wagner said.

will run on weekends starting this Friday, July 29, with the final show on Sunday, Aug. 14. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees start at 2:00 p.m. 

Ticket prices are as follows: adults - $12; seniors (age 60 and older) - $10; and students (through 12th grade) - $8. 

Reservations are strongly encouraged and can be made by calling the box office at 515-964-5007 or by sending an e-mail to tickets@ankenycommunitytheatre.com.