Lyric Stage’s ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ Has Three Stories

The Lyric Stage in Boston debuts “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” on Nov. 13, a production that features a fictional community theater troupe struggling to stage a play amidst a series of escalating technical failures.

Running through Dec. 31, the show serves as a follow-up to the theater’s 2022 production of “The Play That Goes Wrong,” according to the Boston Herald.

The play requires a cast of 12 actors to navigate a complex, rotating set that must simulate both the Darling family home and Never Land, all while performing choreographed mishaps. Director Paul Melone told The Boston Globe that the production functions as three stories simultaneously: the narrative of “Peter Pan,” the quirks of the fictional Cornley Drama Society members, and the professional actors executing the technical demands.

“So much of the play is scripted and choreographed within an inch of its life,” Melone said. “But in each moment they have to embody their community theater character and look like they are surprised.”

The production utilizes a turntable set to transition between locations, a challenge that must also accommodate staged equipment meltdowns and wardrobe malfunctions. Nora Eschenheimer, who returns to the Lyric after appearing in the 2022 production, noted that this version features a more elaborate set design, including tilting platforms and items falling from the ceiling, as reported by the Boston Herald.

“For a play about everything going wrong, there is a massive pressure for everything to go right, more so than any other play,” Eschenheimer told the Boston Herald.

Melone, who previously served as production manager at SpeakEasy Stage Company, manages these technical sequences by integrating sound and light cues into the actors’ physical performances. Courtney O’Connor, the Lyric’s producing artistic director, described Melone as a “triple threat” capable of balancing administrative, technical, and directorial responsibilities, The Boston Globe reported.

While the Lyric Stage prepares for its holiday run, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company announced it will return to the Boston Common in July and August for its 31st season of free performances. The company plans to stage “Henry V,” directed by Bryn Boice, who intends to set the historical drama in a near-future world transformed by technology.

The company’s 2024-2025 season also includes “Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’” at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre from Dec. 11–20, and a production of “Hamlet” for students and educators in May 2025, according to The Boston Globe.

Are the actors in “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” the same as the 2022 production of “The Play That Goes Wrong”? Several cast members from the 2022 run of “The Play That Goes Wrong” have returned to the Lyric Stage, including Kelby T. Akin, Nora Eschenheimer, and Marc Pierre, The Boston Globe reported. The production also features new actors to fill out the roles of the Cornley Drama Society members.

How long does the production run?
“Peter Pan Goes Wrong” opens on Nov. 13 and runs through Dec. 31, according to the Lyric Stage. Tickets range from $25 to $110.