(Left: Poster for an 1879 production on Broadway, featuring Stuart Robson and William Crane)
The Comedy of Errors: Farce by William Shakespeare. Directed by Aaron Posner. California Shakespeare Theater (CalShakes), Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda.(510) 548-9666 or www.calshakes.org. Through July 20, 2014.
Riotous COMEDY OF ERRORS at CalShakes [rating:5]
Many actors are known by their distinctive voices and so it is with Danny Scheie whose gay/fey demeanor and the ability to change octaves within a single word is instantly recognized even with your eyes closed. But do not close your eyes for a minute when you attend The Comedy of Errors at CalShakes. When it is his turn to tread the boards he usually becomes the center of attention but in this truncated/adaptation version of Shakespeare’s shortest play he is matched line for line and shtick for shtick (there is a plethora of shtick) by the international famous Adrian Danzig from the Chicago 500 Clown group. Scheie has met his match.
Danzig and Scheie are supported by a great cast who necessarily play double or triple roles since inventive director Aaron Posner, noted for the physicality of his directing has pared the number of players to seven. It is a convoluted story that begs the use of slap-stick, stop action mugging and broad acting. It has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre with the most notable being The Boys from Syracuse with music by Richard Rogers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart.
The major characters are two sets of twins with identical names Antipholus ( Danzig) of
(l-r) Danny Scheie & Adrian Danzig
Ephesus {A of E} and Antipholus (Danzig) of Syracuse {A of S} and Dromio (Scheie) of Ephesus {D of E} and Dromio (Scheie) of Syracuse {D of S}. Neither of the twins is aware that they have a twin brother. Each Dromio is the servant of each Antipholus. The action takes place in Ephesus and a prolog by Egeon ( Ron Campbell ) who is the father and step-father of the twins tells the tragic tale to the Duke of Ephesus (Liam Vincent) of how he happens to have two sets of twins and how a ship wreck separated them all. Posner has inserted a hilarious scene of the birth of the twins less than five minutes into the play that sets the tone for the entire evening.
Other major characters needed to add to the buffoonery about to unfold are Adriana (Nemuna Ceesay) wife of A of E, her unmarried sister Luciana (Tristan Cunningham), a Courtesan (Patty Duke) and an Abbess (Duke again) for the deus ex machina role leading to a happy ending.
Before that happy ending the cast is intricately running around the stage in chase scenes with Scheie and Danzig effortlessly switching between their roles with a simple twist of the body along with a twist of the hat allowing the audience to keep track of who is whom. Adriana is confused about who shared her bed, the goldsmith (Campbell) wants his money, the Courtesan wants her ring back and on and on. The superb cast responds with vitality and humor in this 110 minute performance including an intermission.
Part of the fun of the evening is identifying which actor is playing which character. Not that it matters since they individually step forward at the curtain call.
Cast of Characters: Antipholus (Adrian Danzig); Dromio (Danny Scheie); Egeon/ensemble ( Ron Campbell ); Luciana/ensemble (Tristan Cunningham); Adriana (Nemuna Ceesay); Duke/Ensemble (Liam Vincent); Courtesan/Abbess/Ensemble (Patty Duke)
Production Staff: Nina Ball (set Designer); Beaver Bauer (Costumes); Andre Pluess (Sound); David Cuthbert (Lighting); David Maier (Fight Director); Karen Szpaller (Stage Manager); Leah Gardner (Assistant Director).
Kedar K. Adour
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
