The Bard still has some laughs

Shakespeare under the stars - might this also qualify as a summer school class for credit at the local junior college? For that reason, I'm generally perplexed that the Bard's works are so often produced these days, what with aliens drawing millions to movie theaters and dimwitted Americans flocking to reality television show auditions in hopes of landing some kind of stardom.

The folks at Murphys Creek Theatre don't care about summer blockbusters, and I doubt there's a TV in public view anywhere near the Stevenot Winery amphitheater. For this year's Theatre Under the Stars, the company presents "Hamlet" (which will be reviewed at a later date) and "The Comedy of Errors" in rotating repertory. I swatted mosquitoes last weekend for the "Comedy," and there were still many laughs to be culled from Shakespeare's ancient words.

Okay, I'll admit his works aren't really ancient, but to find relevance to today's less-than-colorful world of laser beams and super heroes says something about William's words. I will also grant that many people might have a tough time discerning what is going on in any of Shakespeare's plays, whether they've attended Princeton or not. What surprised me about "The Comedy of Errors" though, was that it was relatively easy to follow, perhaps because the whole story is so convoluted anyway.

There's a side story involving a merchant who is supposed to be executed. Stephen Daly gives a very long-winded soliloquy as the merchant, and verily I say he serves the speech well, giving co-stars Stephen Brookins (with a hilariously dubious voice) and Todd Thomas much to sleep over. Director Tom White lets Thomas and Brookins openly demonstrate their boredom to the merchant, and the audience is left to figure out what this play is about to be about.

Enter Davey Wagner and William Hammond as the Dromio and Antipholous twins, respectively. They are the centers of this silliness, and both actors do a wonderful job playing the masters and servants from two different towns. (Wise audience members will watch the costumes closely to learn exactly which twin is onstage at a given moment.)

Donna Devlin and Misty Day are two sisters, one of who is married to one of the Antipholous twins. They mumble about the house wondering when the hubby (and his servant, one of the Dromio twins, remember?) might return. Ho hum, where hath the master gotten off to? Actually, he's gone to fetch a chain he had made for his bride, but the townsfolk begin to notice some oddities in the master and servant who live in their village. Thomas returns to the stage as the metal worker, but let's call him the artist instead (you'll see why when you see this spirited performance). The confusion mounts as one twin manages to have the other arrested without knowing what's going on.

As one pair tries to figure if they can stay the night in the village, the other men are trying to get back into the place where they live (and the husband out of the clinker). And, can the wife tell who's who?

There's the story, in a supremely tiny nutshell. But, really, that's too harsh a statement because as the actors make their way through the text, there are laughs, some well-choreographed scenes of physical comedy, and even some shouting. As I sat there, I realized that this play is a lot like those British door slammer comedies, no doubt contrived after a playwright read this tale. You know those ditsy plays where mistaken identities occur and all of the doors in the manor serve to betray the secrets, depending on how fast they are opened and closed? Well here, Shakespeare is doing the same thing, only there are no doors, just costumes and flowery speech.

I laughed more frequently than I thought I was going to, but that's because I found myself really studying the prose. This is Shakespeare, folks, and if you forget your thinking cap you'll be left in the dust! Once I remembered that the Bard rarely allows a character say what he wants in favor of spouting yet another metaphor, I settled back and enjoyed the show. Methinks I may have come away smarter, but that's for others to declare in my stead.

Elegantly crafted costumes adorn the actors and the set appears as a place where the two shows can be staged without too much complexity. The fun in "Comedy of Errors" comes from picking out an actor or two and really watching them work. You might pick Michael Mager, if only to decide if he's got cotton in his mouth as he speaks with a decidedly Brano-esque accent, or watch Wagner - he's doing something funny even when he's not uttering a word.

Yes it's the Bard, and yes that can mean a lot of poppycock, but don't let that scare you away from this lively production. The laughter is alive and well.