A hilarious and chaotic farce which revolves around an amateur theater company's disastrous attempt to stage a murder mystery, resulting in a series of uproarious mishaps and slapstick humor, keeping audiences in stitches.
The Ensemble

Gavin J. Annette (Chris) cannot wait to join his castmates in the hilarity and mayhem that is The Play That Goes Wrong! Since his inclusion in the Forst repertoire in 2021, Gavin has found his theatrical home with all of the wonderful productions - and wonderful people - that this venue has to offer. You may have seen him in such Forst shows as Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Picasso), Carrie: The Musical (Billy Nolan), and most recently, Into the Woods (The Baker). Gavin is a huge fan of Mischief Theatre (creators of TPTWG), and regularly rewatches episodes of The Goes Wrong Show on YouTube for a laugh or seven. Many thanks to Michael for this opportunity, and for giving performers a safe and inclusive space to make some memorable theatrical mischief!

KC Bray (Max) is excited to return to The Forst Inn stage for his second show with the company. You may have seen him fumbling around the stage in last fall's production of Into the Woods as Rapunzel's Prince, and he hopes you enjoy seeing him run into every setpiece once again as Max/Cecil/Arthur. When not performing, KC makes a fool of himself in his work life as well, getting roasted by delinquent teenagers at his job at Brown County Shelter Care. KC would like to thank his family and friends for their support and encouragement throughout the show process.

Carrie Counihan (Triny) has been involved at the Forst Inn since the 2020 season in a variety of roles but has yet to have her life endangered…but things could quickly change along those lines because you never know what could happen when a play goes wrong! Favorite roles at the Inn include Stella in Streetcar Named Desire, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Stepmother in Into the Woods. She most recently played Maeve in a development production of Love Lately produced at the Forst which will have a follow up production under the new title Maeve’s Camellia in Milwaukee this May. Thank you Michael for creating a theatre home for all of us misfits!

Jessica Iannitello (Sandra) could not be more thrilled to be returning to the Forst Inn stage. After taking a year off from theatre to live in the Pacific Northwest, she can finally get back to her true passion: being hysterical. You may have seen her before in the Forst Inn’s production of Cabaret as Rosie, Masquers’ production of Boeing, Boeing as Gabriella, and Peter Quince’s production of James and the Giant Peach as Ladybug, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. In her free time, she enjoys a variety of little old grandma hobbies like crocheting, watching Jeopardy!, and reading her Bible. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

Jonathan Medendorp (Dennis) joins the Forst Inn's mainstage for the first time as the butler, Perkins. While more comfortable behind the scenes or as an audience member, Jonathan is excited to share the stage with his friends in the season opener. Jonathan performed in the Forst Inn's Underground production of Hello Again in 2019 as the Writer and has participated in a few stage readings as well. Thank you to Michael and the Forst Inn for making the magic possible and thank you, our audience members, for believing in what we do.

Thomas Moore (Jonathon) is excited to be back on stage after taking a 2 year hiatus to work on other hobbies. Not a stranger to the lakeshore theatre community, you may have seen him previous shows that include Street Car Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, and Proof here at the Forst inn. Other then theatre, he spends an unhealthy amount of time playing Disc Golf throughout the year. He is very excited to get married this September to the amazing Elizabeth Szyman who will always be the Daisy to his Gatsby.

Karter Mueller (Vinny) is psyched to be back on stage for the 2024 opening show once again. Karter started his theatre journey at The Forst in October of 2022 with the show Carrie : The Musical , and since this has been seen on this stage 7 more times! Recently you would’ve caught him in The Rocky Horror Show , or Christmas Musings. Bringing this fun filled comedic show to the Forst is a great way to start the year out! Make sure to watch carefully, you won’t want to miss any of this! Huge thank you to Michael as always for letting all of us express ourselves and bring joy and laughter to the stage! Enjoy the show

Hannah Otto (Magician)

Blaine Rezach (Robert) is excited to hop back on the Forst Inn stage in this year’s opener! Comedic roles have always been a strong suit for him and he’s ready bring the house down. You may remember him in last season’s performance as Frank-N-Furter in ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ and while he won’t be wearing heels there will be plenty of physicality in his performance. Huge thank you to Michael, Hannah, and the rest of the team for making this show a truly enjoyable time!

Ragen Trepanier (Annie) is so excited to be in her first Forst Inn theater production. Ragen has been in numerous other shows throughout high school and is excited to continue acting into college. Off stage we find Ragen doing various crafts and attending NWTC. She would like to thank the cast and crew for being so welcoming and supportive. Joining a new theater can be scary but Ragen felt right at home.
Production Team
Michael Sheeks - Director
Shannon Paige - Stage Manager
Effects Manager - Hannah Otto
Effects Technical Consultant - Jeff LaFond
Costume Designer - Claran LaViolette
Lead Carpenter - John Stangel
Set Build Crew - Elmer Dvoracek, Larry Leiberg, Blaine Rezach, Thomas Moore, Em Schaller, Carrie Counihan, Jessica Iannitello, Gavin Annette, Shannon Paige, Emilee Carroll, Hannah Otto
Scenic Painter - Lisa Heili
Properties Lead - Emilee Carroll
Properties Crew - Karter Mueller, Ash Stokes
Electrician - Phillip Lotto
Michael Sheeks - Director
Shannon Paige - Stage Manager
Effects Manager - Hannah Otto
Effects Technical Consultant - Jeff LaFond
Costume Designer - Claran LaViolette
Lead Carpenter - John Stangel
Set Build Crew - Elmer Dvoracek, Larry Leiberg, Blaine Rezach, Thomas Moore, Em Schaller, Carrie Counihan, Jessica Iannitello, Gavin Annette, Shannon Paige, Emilee Carroll, Hannah Otto
Scenic Painter - Lisa Heili
Properties Lead - Emilee Carroll
Properties Crew - Karter Mueller, Ash Stokes
Electrician - Phillip Lotto

Director's Note
I had the pleasure of seeing this show last August in its current run at the New World Stages in New York. I was delighted and inspired to do the show, and was confident that it was the perfect script for our acting community. That said, the technical elements are daunting, and my first reaction was that we weren't ready to take it on. Flash forward to our play selection process in the fall, and after some reflection, we decided to take it on. By placing it as our first show of the season, we were able to plan a complete remodeling of our playing space over the winter break.
What a journey that has been! An amazing team of folks led by John Stangel, Phillip Lotto, Hannah Otto, Emilee Carroll, and Jeff LaFond embarked on a six week journey to completely rebuild the stage infrastructure and take on the many special effects required by the show. The set is a character in and of itself.
Farce is in many respects the most technically challenging of the theatrical genres. Anyone familiar with seeing or performing in Noises Off knows what this can be like, and this show was very much in that mode. The ensemble needs to be intimately familiar with their material in order to maintain the flow of the action while responding to the many variables involved in a highly physical and improvised structure. We have been blessed with a very talented ensemble who have crafted their characters with precision and consistency.
All of this has led to a delightful presentation of a crazy and entertaining story. We hope you enjoy the show and that the laughter is cathartic for us all!
-- Michael Sheeks
I had the pleasure of seeing this show last August in its current run at the New World Stages in New York. I was delighted and inspired to do the show, and was confident that it was the perfect script for our acting community. That said, the technical elements are daunting, and my first reaction was that we weren't ready to take it on. Flash forward to our play selection process in the fall, and after some reflection, we decided to take it on. By placing it as our first show of the season, we were able to plan a complete remodeling of our playing space over the winter break.
What a journey that has been! An amazing team of folks led by John Stangel, Phillip Lotto, Hannah Otto, Emilee Carroll, and Jeff LaFond embarked on a six week journey to completely rebuild the stage infrastructure and take on the many special effects required by the show. The set is a character in and of itself.
Farce is in many respects the most technically challenging of the theatrical genres. Anyone familiar with seeing or performing in Noises Off knows what this can be like, and this show was very much in that mode. The ensemble needs to be intimately familiar with their material in order to maintain the flow of the action while responding to the many variables involved in a highly physical and improvised structure. We have been blessed with a very talented ensemble who have crafted their characters with precision and consistency.
All of this has led to a delightful presentation of a crazy and entertaining story. We hope you enjoy the show and that the laughter is cathartic for us all!
-- Michael Sheeks