Set during Mardi Gras in the 1960s, the School of Music, Theatre, & Dance presents an interestingly humorous production of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. Like so many of Shakespeare’s comedies, The Comedy of Errors is full of mistaken identity, entertaining situations, and nearly tragic events. As a father faces death for arriving in Ephesus to search for his twin sons (both named Antipholus), both of the twins and their twin servants (both named Dromio) unwittingly wreak havoc as they are constantly mistaken for each other.
Full of the slapstick and running gags, this production’s strength was the physical and nonverbal humor. From a martini glass that keeps getting bigger to a duke constantly finding new ways to stay hidden, the best moment was the over the top chase sequence in which a sequence of characters bike by on progressively smaller bikes. At the center of the slapstick humor were the two Dromios (Ben Blackman, Elliot Cruz) who where frequently being hit with bright yellow hats and rubber fish, punched in the stomach, and kicked in the butt. Although that took up a lot of their time on stage, Blackman and Cruz played up the humor with witty lines, dancing, and rapping, which were playful and entertaining.
While this production was appropriately comical and well acted, it had some struggles with the verbal humor. Since this is thought to be Shakespeare’s first comedy, his hallmark wordplay and wit is less pronounced than in the later comedies, which is why most productions play up the physical humor. In this production, however, some of Shakespeare’s most famous lines from, interestingly enough, histories and tragedies including Macbeth, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet were added in an attempt to heighten the verbal humor and wit. Although it was an interesting idea, for the most part it fell flat and made the play feel less like Shakespeare and more like an awkward tribute.
Overall, this production was unique and entertaining. The Mardi Gras setting worked well and the cast gave admirable performances. Although the additions to the play sometimes felt awkward and out of the place, when the existing humor was played up, the production was wonderfully engaging.
