By Kathryn Olsen
As Utah Shakespeare Festival remarks before every performance, a year of darkness has made us appreciate the light of live theater and William Shakespeare‘s The Comedy of Errors at Cedar City‘s Engelstad Shakespeare Theater is ablaze with just that light. Director Vincent J. Cardinal has adapted the already-hilarious plot of this play in ways that have the audience howling with laughter and interrupting scenes for amused applause. I had not seen any performance of this play since attending this same festival as a pre-teen, so was looking forward to reacquainting myself with a somewhat-familiar story.
The play opens on the plight of Egeon (Michael A. Harding), a merchant of Syracuse who must pay one thousand ducats upon arrival in Ephesus or be beheaded, There is never a clear indication of the reasons for this extreme ransom, but Duke Solinus (Howard Leder) asks the hapless merchant to explain his reasons for being there. Egeon has come to Ephesus in search of his son Antipholus of Syracuse (Mauricio Miranda) and his son’s manservant Dromio of Syracuse (Michael Doherty), He is particularly attached to these two because each had an identical twin brother who was lost at sea along with his wife Emilia (Sarah Shippobotham) years ago. He is taken into custody pending his ransom or execution. Meanwhile, Antipholus and Dromio arrive in town, dress themselves as Ephesians, and set out on several errands, not realizing that Dromio will soon accost Antipholus and demand that he come home to his wife Adriana (Desiree Mee Jung) for dinner. The baffled Antipholus comes home and strikes up an immediate connection with his supposed wife’s sister Luciana (Alex Keiper). Meanwhile, Dromio is bewildered by the harsh treatment and contradictory orders of his master Antipholus. This is all explained and complicated by the fact that there are Antipholus of Ephesus (Marco Antonio Vega) and Dromio of Ephesus (Andrew Plinio). The consequences and counterpoints are fantastically entertaining for a play that only lasts eighty minutes.
Harding is wonderfully unassuming as a man who, robbed of the opportunity to make the best of a situation, must try to salvage something of an awful circumstance. He is clearly a strong-willed character in forced humility and it’s enough to move some of the other actors to histrionic sympathy in a completely believable way. Though his time on-stage is brief, the audience derives easy joy from seeing a happy outcome for him.
Leder is likewise a brief, but commanding presence. He is reminiscent of Don Pedro from Much Ado About Nothing as both an instigator and a mediator. Leder commands respect, but never allows himself to be an attention-drawing character.
It is usually customary in oru reviews to dedicate paragraphs to individual actors, but in the case of the Dromios and Antipholuses, it seems appropriate to look at each set of twins together. Doherty and Plinio play the characters of Dromio with nuance in their individual performances and memorable moments, but they have such similar attitudes that it is easy to see why the Antipholuses and others in the city are unable to tell the difference. Through pratfalls and increasing neurosis, fish-fights and even lightsaber battles (they are, after all, in the later 1970s and have a swordfight), they are a magnificent pairing.
Jung as Adriana is bewitching and humorous, while understandably taking umbrage at her husband’s indifference to her needs and feelings. Jung also plays the shipwrecked Thaisa in Pericles and Elizabeth in Richard IIIat the Festival and it is a wonderful change to have her play a role in which she can both stand strong and have a favorable outcome.
Keiper’s Luciana is a more free-spirited type and this is not just evidenced by her teased hair and yellow go-go boots. Keiper portrays her with an enjoyable air of following one’s heart without enough thought for consequence. She is the most vivacious of the characters and a joy to watch.
Other actors have smaller, but invaluable parts. Aidan O’Reilly is a persistently demanding creditor as Angelo the goldsmith and his chameleon-like personality makes his interactions amusing to watch. Dr. Pinch, a “conjuring schoolmaster” is played to great effect by Jeremy Thompson and seems part faith healer, part charlatan as he attempts an exorcism over the strains of a disco version of “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Most memorable is the Officer played by Jovan A. Davis, who is moved to tears (and monetary contributions) by the plight of Egeon, but also so dedicated to his duty that he spends several scenes with his arms wrapped around a prisoner to make sure he doesn’t escape.
Cardinal’s vision of Ephesus is one of bizarre whimsy befitting the plot of the play. The ancient Greek city of Ephesus is transformed to a setting that Utah Shakespeare Festival educator Michael Bahr identified as evoking memories of a modern “Greek” comedy, the ABBA-inspired Mamma Mia. Scenic Designer Apollo Mark Weaver creates a balance between the two so that the setting is the Greek town equivalent of the everyman, while Lighting Designer Michael Gillian sets the mood and weather with skill. The Sound Design and Original Music is composed by Lindsay Jones and coordinated by Music Director Brandon Scott Grayson and fans of ABBA will recognize that “I Have A Dream” forms the instrumental leitmotif for much of the play, while the rest of the incidental music is in the style of or drawn from music of the disco era. Egeon even speaks of his lost love over the melody of “Dancing Queen.” Consequently, Costume Designer Karin Simonson Kopischke has put every character except those in holy offices into styles from the 1970s and the result is both hilarious and over-the-top. Fight Director Paul Dennhardt and Intimacy Director Caitlyn Herringer both have challenges set before them. Dennhardt choreographs fights that defy physics and logic for the more bumbling characters and even introduces one swordfight with lightsabers that would have just come on the scene in this era. Herringer, meanwhile, guides two men to interact with the same woman, only one of them with consent, and subjects both Doherty and Plinio to the enthusiastic attentions of servant Luce (Lena Conatser). Voice and Text Coach Philip Thompson ensures that the diction and expression of speech are crystal clear and this was particularly evident in the number of times that children in the audience joined in the laughter when they were able to understand the humor of lines.
The Comedy of Errors is running for the length of the festival, so hurry now to the box office lest you, like Antipholus of Ephesus, find yourself locked out of a wonderful experience. Children and adults alike will find something to appreciate in this ridiculous family comedy.
Utah Shakespeare Festival Presents The Comedy of Errors; by William Shakespeare.
Engelstad Shakespeare Theater 200 Shakespeare Ln, Cedar City, UT 84720
Jun 23-Sep 11, 2021, 8:00 PM
Contact: 800-752-9849
Tickets: $13-80
www,bard.org
Utah Shakespeare Festival Facebook Page
The Comedy of Errors Facebook Page
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