The stage is set, the actors are in place, and the laughter is about to begin as Palmerton Drama Club gears up for its latest production, “The Play That Goes Wrong,” this weekend.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students for the production, which runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the high school auditorium. They can be purchased through Ludus (https://phsdramaclub.ludus.com), accessible via the Drama Club’s Facebook Page, or at the door.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the curtain rises at 7 p.m. each night.

Drama Club Director Brent Harris said after a successful run with well-known productions like “White Christmas” and “Grease” last year, the group sought something lesser-known yet equally entertaining for its winter show.

“This show gives us the freedom to interpret a script on our own without a film to guide our decisions, and it is also very funny,” Harris said. “We’ve done many shows that certainly had comedic elements, but never anything that I would call a pure comedy. This definitely fit that bill for our club and has been both fun and incredibly challenging to bring to life.”

Harris shared insights into the unique challenges faced by both the cast and the stage crew. The intricate layers of the play, with each cast member portraying an actor within the Cornley Drama Society, added a level of complexity that the drama club had not encountered before.

“It has been a lot of fun rehearsing all of the hilarious situations that come about throughout the play as the Cornley Drama actors have all sorts of technical problems that cause their show to unravel,” Harris said.

The stage crew, led by Brandyn Miller, faced the daunting task of creating a set that could withstand the comedic chaos, featuring falling set pieces, rotating doors, and other technical marvels.

“This set takes a beating as the ‘play goes wrong’ and has to be right back in tip-top shape the next time we run the show,” Harris said. “Mr. Miller and the stage crew students have always played a bit of an ‘unsung hero’ role throughout the years as much of our success has relied on their hard work, but that has never been more true than this year. They have really outdone themselves with this one.”

Preparation for the play involved meticulous planning and teamwork, with the cast rehearsing in different spaces to perfect the timing and feel of each scene.

“For the first two months of rehearsal we moved from the stage to the library for a smaller playing area and better chance to dissect each scene and situation,” Harris said. “This way, when we finally got up on the stage, we were as prepared as possible for the feel of putting the play on in the larger auditorium.”

The stage crew, on the other hand, spent months devising and executing various tricks to ensure the seamless execution of the play’s comedic elements.

“They have set pieces fall, hidden revolving doors rotate, characters go in and out of windows, and on and on,” Harris said. “They spent months figuring out how to make all of these things happen and then building a set that allowed all of these tricks to work and then be reset.”

As for the audience, Harris hopes that everyone leaves with a smile on their face. “This show is all about having a laugh and a good time,” he said. “Much of the work we have done in the past has been based in heavy drama, classic musicals, recognizable stories and songs, and shows that teach us about humanity. The Play That Goes Wrong is not that kind of show. This is a chance to shake things up, get a little wild and crazy with the unexpected, and hopefully give everyone a few big laughs throughout the night.”