By Tina Hawley
In a surprisingly entertaining way, Timpanogos Valley Theatre’s production of The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare in Heber City, Utah is a return to tradition. While many modern Shakespeare productions put their budget into lavish, period-accurate costumes and jaw-dropping sets, TVT’s Summer Shakespeare Bootcamp has a different focus. According to community theatre program manager and actor David Thorpe, TVT has attempted to replicate Shakespeare’s rehearsal process as closely as possible with their short rehearsal time of only two weeks, as well as their choice to give the actors free rein with their costumes and their characters. This production has a minimal technical crew (theatre board president Trudi Harter and VP Tara Wall assist with cues), and there is no director.
At first glance, that might make some people nervous. I, however, found it interesting, because even before the show started, as I sat in the small gymnasium of the Heber City Amusement Hall with little kids running through the aisle with bags of popcorn and people from the community chatting loudly with their friends, I wondered if this was what standing on the floor of the Globe Theatre might have actually been like. (To a point, of course. They do have chairs, fortunately.) It just felt . . . real. We sometimes forget that in Shakespeare’s lifetime, he was just a working entertainer. Costumes came out of a box and scenery hadn’t even been invented yet. The result of TVT’s experiment is chaotic to be sure, and generally volume and energy take the place of a more sophisticated acting style, but with such an incredulous farce as The Comedy of Errors, this is less of a drawback than a selling point.
The Comedy of Errors is more traditional than it might seem. It’s Shakespeare’s shortest play (barely 90 minutes) and conforms to the Aristotelian principle of unity of time—that the play should take place within 24 hours. Set in Greece, it follows two sets of identical twins separated at birth. In their search for each other, both sets of twins end up in the same city of Ephesus. What’s more Shakespearean than two counts of mistaken identity? The following shenanigans involve missed dinners, a courtezan, several merchants, a jilted wife, an exorcism, large amounts of money, and an abbess.
To add to the confusion, both sets of twins share the same name and are only differentiated in the script by their hometowns. Dromio of Syracuse (Jessica Wall) is servant to Antipholus of Syracuse (Tim Munsell), while Dromio of Ephesus (Brenna Wall) attends Antipholus of Ephesus (Ethan Tull). While everyone on stage confuses them, each Dromio and Antipholus manages to add nuance to his or her character. B. Wall’s Dromio of Ephesus is energetic with an undercurrent of saucy sarcasm, while J. Wall plays Dromio of Syracuse with a wide-eyed, almost childlike earnestness that is an unequivocal delight.
Munsell gives an Alice-in-Wonderland flavor to Antipholus of Syracuse, wandering as if in a dream through a city where people get his name right but everything else wrong. But they keep giving him gold, so who is he to complain? Antipholus of Ephesus takes far less well to his wife locking him out of his own house, and Tull’s gradual increase in irritation and anger as his settled life begins to fall apart at the seams—culminating in a full-on screaming match with the city guard—is understandable, if a little unsettling.
Perhaps as a result of each actor building his or her own costume, each character of the wide cast is memorable even if they are only on stage for a moment. I particularly liked the dwarfish yarn beards of the merchants Balthazar (Caleigh King) and Angelo (Tiana Stanley) and the fabulous mustache of the soft-hearted Duke Solinus (Emily Pelo). (What? I like some good fake facial hair.) The casting is completely gender-blind, with devastating comedic effect. The best example of this is David Burrow’s side-splitting performance as Luce, Dromio of Ephesus’s amorous wife-to-be. Burrow is three times the size of the Dromios in his padded dress, making his high-pitched calls of “Dromio! Dromio!” as he chases Dromio of Syracuse around the stage beyond hilarious. J. Wall’s awed-yet-horrified recounting of the experience is easily my favorite part of the show.Other notable performances include Sophie Betts as Adriana, wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, Emma Penrose as her airheaded sister Luciana, and David Thorpe as the blind faith healer Doctor Pinch. Penrose’s anachronistic valley-girl accent is an entertaining gimmick, though it sometimes jars with the rest of the cast. I also appreciated her creative use of her single sleeve. April Thiede plays a key role as Abbess Aemilia, as does Bean Ward as the infamous courtezan. The officers (Melissa Burrow, Caleigh King, Emily Pelo, Rachel Pullan, and Bean Ward) continually bumble through the background, adding humor even to the minimalistic scene changes.
William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors is a farce, make no mistake. There’s not a whole lot of deeper meaning to the plotline, but it’s no less entertaining for that. Timpanogos Valley Theatre’s performance is a grassroots production where all of the participants are clearly having a blast onstage. It’s a short, engaging show with a lot of laughs and energy, making it a good fit for audience members of all ages. They only have three performances left, so bring your kids for a fun night in Heber City while you still can!
Timpanogos Valley Theatre Presents The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Heber City Amusement Hall, 90 N 100 W, Heber City, Utah 84032
July 19 – August 3, 2019, 7:00 PM
Get Tickets: $7-$14
Timpanogos Valley Theatre Website
Timpanogos Valley Theatre Facebook Page
The Comedy of Errors Facebook Event
0 Comments