'Comedy provides pleasant evening

Frank: The opening night audience of 65 or so reacted with delight and applause to Murphys Creek Theatre's presentation of The Comedy of Errors.

Grace: Didn't they though.  Right from the start, we knew we were in for an unusual - and politically incorrect - interpretation of one of Shakespeare's more frequently staged plays.

Frank: That's for sure. The first words out of the duke's mouth had the audience roaring with laughter.

Grace: No one expected this nobleman (played to the hilt by Stephen Brookins) to sound like Elmer Fudd.

Frank: And with a lisp to boot!

Grace: That's just the beginning. What about Todd Thomas' swishy portrayal of Angelo, particularly during the hilariously effeminate swordplay?

Frank: Oh, and Michael Mager's Brando-esque qaccent as one of the two merchants he plays?

Grace: It wasn't politically incorrect - just unexpected and funny, as was his tough-guy demeanor as the second merchant.

Frank: Then there's Egeon (Stephen Daly), a wordy old man whose interminable speeches drive the other characters to boredom and irritation, which they display through some highly amusing nonverbal reactions.  Daly plays Polonius in MCT's currently running Hamlet and the two parts have a lot in common.

Grace: We haven't even mentioned the leads yet. All of them perform convincingly, with excellent diction and movement.

Frank: And William Hammond plays not one, but two leading roles as the Antipholus twins. Luckily for Hammond, they're identical.

Grace: Davey Wagner, as the other pair of identical twins (the Dromio brothers) flourishes as these put-upon and goofy servants.

Frank: He certainly does. His wild physical comedy brought laugh upon laugh to the audience.

Grace: Leading ladies Donna Devlin (Adriana) Misty Day (Luciana) are appropriately lovely and deliciously adroit as events become more and more muddled.

Frank: You know I don't usually notice women's clothes, but Adriana and Luciana's attire looked elegant to me.

Grace: Will surprises never end? The men's constumes were equally impressive. However, those of Antipholus and Dromio didn't vary, which made the intentional confusion in the Bard's script even more befuddling, I thought.

Frank: Well, Shakespeare's entire premise is based on mistaken identity. To really appreciate this comedy one should be familiar with the story. Egeon, a merchant from Syracuse, is arrested in Ephesus, due to ongoing enmity between Syracuse and Ephesus. Egeon tells the Duke of Ephesus, Solinus, his (long) tale: Sailing many years ago with his wife, Amelia, and their twin sons, both names Antipholus, and the twins' servants, both named Dromio, they become shipwrecked. Amelia, one of the sons and one of the servants are lost. Egeon and the other two survive, and he sends them to Syracuse to search for their lost brothers. Upon hearing this tale, Solinus is moved to postpone Egeon's sentence, giving him until nightfall to produce a ransom or be executed.

Grace: (Yawn)

Frank: Don't be rude. Antipholus (AS) and Dromio (DS) of Syracuse arrive in Ephesus, and suddenly everyone gets mixed up, because they are mistaken for Antipholus (DE) and Dromio (DE) of Ephesus. AS is invited to the home of AE, where he dines with AE's wife, causing some consternation. Meanwhile Angelo, a merchant, gives a gold chain commissioned by AE to AS by mistake. Of course, AS refuses to pay for it and is arrested. Adriana and Luciana, her sister, are convinced that AE and DE have gone mad, thinking the pair is AS and DS. They have AE and DE restrained and sent to a doctor.

Grace: (Fidget)

Frank: Later, when Ardriana meets AS and DS, she thinks they are the other two, and that they escaped from the doctor. AS and DS flee to an abbey for refuge, while AE and DE flee the doctor. They arrive just in the nick of time to petition Solinus to spare Egeon. AS and DS arrive with the abbess, who is in fact Amelia. Everything is sorted out before the duke, Egeon, is released. AS marries Luciana and everyone lives happily ever after. Got that straight?

Grace: Good grief! You've morphed into Egeon!

Frank: Nevertheless, all that had to be said. I still have enough wind to praise director Tom White. Maybe he could have made the evening more enjoyable, but I don't know how.

Grace: Nor do I. He not only directs Comedy, he also built the set that serves for both this play and Hamlet. What a difference a fountain here, a flower there, makes to the basic castle. No barren Elsinore this.

Frank: I'm sure we agree that this Comedy will bring pleasure to anyone who is lucky enough to spend a pleasant evening under the stars at the Stevenot amphitheatre.

Grace: Indeed.