Mischief Theatre has returned to Broadway with another play that isn’t going exactly as planned, exactly the way the creative team wanted it to, now on stage at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, aptly titled “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” based on the play “Peter Pan” by JM Barrie. The book showcases everything, and in this case take that word literally, that might go wrong when a small community theatre troupe mounts a production of Peter Pan. Audiences that are familiar with the Broadway hit “The Play That Goes Wrong”, which is still running Off-Broadway, produced by the same company, will be treated to the same style of slapstick and mishap comedy. Although the products may be similar, this production relies more on the action than the reaction. Neither the audience nor the actors are given time to react to the mishaps before the next one lands on top of them, which eliminates the humor garnered by the actors’ reaction to the dilemma. Clocking in at bit over two hours the physical comedy begins to wear thin, becoming predictable rather than unexpected. The result is that it no longer becomes a play within a play. The real Peter Pan play is forgotten, and the play about unfortunate mishaps becomes the play, which constantly breaks the fourth wall and consistently forces the actors to care more about the execution of disastrous gags, than the play itself. In this case less would have been more.

The cast is remarkable, pulling off every stunt to perfection. It is a slapstick farce on steroids with a climactic ending where even the stage turntable is out of control. It is a raucous performance where actors invite the audience to cheer and boo certain characters, and of course bring Tinkerbell back to life, screaming “I believe in fairies”, after she is electrified by her twinkling costume connected to a long extension cord that shorts out. Of course, there is flying, or it should be said failed attempts at flying resulting in several injuries, but the players forge on. There are costume malfunctions, risqué backstage romances, quick changes, a seafaring ship, a dog, and a crocodile to extract the humor.

Book writers Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields have created a jam-packed script filled with constant and unforgiving, sweet slapstick comedy. Costume design by Roberto Surace is purposely low budget children’s book eloquence, colorful and inventive. Scenic design by Simon Scullion follows suit with a cartoonish flair. Director Adam Meggido deftly directs this production at lightning speed coaxing every morsel of physical comedy out of his tireless cast. The madcap finale is a brilliantly choreographed farce on a quickly spinning turntable.

At this performance Neil Patrick Harris guest stars in the role of Francis, mainly acting as narrator but also taking part as a character in some scenes. He is well suited for physical comedy and thankfully is allowed to execute the mishaps and also react, where his excellent comedic timing is appreciated. He will be performing with the company through April 30^th. If you like broad British comedy and sight gags this is the show to see.