Review: Double the Fun with Seattle Shakes THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

It's one of Shakespeare's more raucous comedies so in order to do it right it's best to just let it happen and not get in its way too much. Luckily director Jane Nichols and the folks at Seattle Shakespeare Company understand that about "The Comedy of Errors" but that didn't stop them from adding in some glorious bits of slapstick and physical comedy to this already funny tale, elevating it to hilarious.

It can be a bit confusing if you're not paying attention as Egeon (Todd Jefferson Moore) is Father to twin boys both named Antipholus (David Brown King and Jay Myers) and those two boys each have a servant, also twins and both named Dromio (Kevin Kelly and Arjun Pande). But on a sea voyage when the kids are just babies, the ship is wrecked and Egeon and one of each twin ends up saved in Syracuse while the others are lost with their Mother Emilia. So now that his remaining son is grown Egeon sets off to find his lost wife only to end up in Ephesus who has a law against people from Syracuse setting foot on their land so he is arrested and will be put to death unless he can come up with the money to pay off his crime. Meanwhile Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse also end up in Ephesus searching for their long lost brothers not knowing that their brothers ended up there and have been living there for years. And then the identities are mistaken right and left as the wrong Antipholus ends up with the other's wife (Linda K. Morris) for dinner but falls for the wife's sister (Samie Spring Detzer). And then the "Three's Company"-esque antics ensue.

Nichols has allowed for a beautiful tone of the ridiculous to the show with characters mugging to the audience, overplaying the physical comedy and keeping the comedy dialed up to 11. A choice which could feel out of place if it weren't for the fact that everyone is blissfully in the same style. Add into that some wonderful acrobatics, scaling of set pieces and the fact that each of the Dromio's keep zipping about the stage on shiny red kid's bikes and you have some comedy gold.

Both King and Myers manage the comedy well acting as kind of the Abbot to their Dromio's Costello especially Myers who has a several minute long sword battle with no one that is worth the price of admission. But it's Kelly and Pande who take the physical comedy to a whole new level and then double it (since there are two of them). Morris and Detzer allow their characters to act some lovely obstacles to the boys figuring out what is going on and keep the affection for their partners in perfect balance with their situations but also manage their own bits of physical comedy brilliance. The rest of the ensemble does a beautiful job as well but it's really Myers and the two Dromio's who walk off with the show.

If you're looking for a rollicking good time then look no further which is why I give Seattle Shakes "The Comedy of Errors" a belly laugh of a YAY with my three letter rating system. You'll be hard pressed to find a better time with two sets of twins with your clothes still on.

"The Comedy of Errors" from Seattle Shakespeare Company performs at the Seattle Rep through October 11th. For tickets or information contact the Seattle Shakespeare Company box office at 206-733-8222 or visit them online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.