By Charlene Baldridge
In case anyone missed it, Broadway director Scott Ellis helmed the Old Globe’s current offering, William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors,” in the outdoors Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.
Ellis, who had three shows on Broadway this year, trimmed the farcical play — already one of the Bard’s shortest — to a quick 90 minutes or so. He also changed the locale from ancient Ephesus to 1920s New Orleans, which gives him an excuse for some fabulous Roaring ‘20s flapper-style gowns, a typical New Orleans jazz band parade and a drag Courtesan.
The production seems tailor-made (Linda Cho is the costume designer) for modern audiences, and it is saucy and bold enough to be Broadway bound. Only Associate Artist Deborah Taylor’s 11th-hour speech as the Abbess reminded purists where they’ve been for the last half-century and what they usually witness — despite all the hijinks, it is the sincere and glorious reunion of a family long-sundered, reunited amidst the chaos of mistaken identities. Never mind. The evening was great fun.
Two sets of identical twins, separated in infancy — one set the Antipholus boys of Syracuse and Ephesus (both played by Glenn Howerton), and the other set, their servants, the Dromios of Syracuse and Ephesus (both played by Rory O’Malley). Though more accustomed to cameras than they are to iambic pentameter, both men are winners. Howerton currently stars as Dennis Reynolds in the FXX comedy, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and O’Malley spent last summer co-starring with Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence in FX’s “Partners.”
Drag artist Garth Schilling (aka Miss Vodka Stinger) plays the Courtesan and makes the most of her rendition of the interpolated song, “A Little Sugar in My Bowl.” This is Schilling’s Shakespearean debut. The Courtesan offers comfort to Antipholus of New Orleans and provides foil for a subplot about a gold chain intended for his wife, Adriana, who is played by Shakespeare veteran Megan Dodds. Dodds wears her ‘20s dress fetchingly and speaks the speech trippingly off the tongue.
Barrett Doss plays her sister, Luciana, for whom Antipholus of Syracuse develops a longing for more than kinship. This creates a great deal of consternation, since no one knows there are two Antipholi. O’Malley performs a wondrous turn as Dromio of Syracuse relates his encounter with a greasy kitchen wench whose body stretches from sea to sea.
For the purists, Patrick Kerr is exceptionally well-spoken as Egeon, father of the Antipholus twins, who tells the tale of how all were separated at sea when his sons were infants.
It’s great evening of jollity upon Alexander Dodge’s gorgeous set (“A Streetcar Named Desire” might be performed there on alternate evenings). Philip S. Rosenberg creates remarkable lighting, Acme Sound Partners make everything audible, and Derek Cannon is responsible for no fuss music direction. The jazz musicians are Cannon, Chaz Cabrera and Jordan Morita. Others just kind of join the parade.
Dialect coach Ursula Meyer does a herculean job of making such a disparate company sound like one Shakespearean troupe. James Vásquez is movement magician; George Ye, the fight director; and Shana Wride the assistant director.
The saints do come marchin’ in.
—Charlene Baldridge has been writing about the arts since 1979. You can follow her blog at charlenebaldridge.com or reach her at [email protected].
