Long-lost twins Dromio of Syracuse (Ross Lehman) and Dromio of Ephesus (Kevin Gudahl) in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”/Photo: Liz Lauren
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One of William Shakespeare’s earliest plays, “The Comedy of Errors” is sublimely ridiculous. Twin brothers, both named Antipholus, and their twin servants, both named Dromio, are separated as babies and then end up in the same city, where everyone confuses them for each other. It’s a play that works well with plenty of liberties—puppets, acrobatics, a little seltzer down your pants, and whatever else you will.
For her final production as artistic director at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Barbara Gaines chose this soufflé of a play and doubles down on its silliness with a framing device about a London studio in 1941 making a “Comedy of Errors” movie. So on top of the Dromios and Antipholi, we get another story about actors and stagehands trying to put on a show to cheer up the troops, as the Luftwaffe knocks plaster onto their heads.
The production is great fun, and a fine sendoff for the invaluable Gaines after thirty-six years of bringing Shakespeare to Chicago.
Film director Dudley Marsh (Ross Lehman) surrounded by his cast and crew in”The Comedy of Errors”/Photo: Liz Lauren
But the studio scenes, written by Second City veteran Ron West and newly adapted from a 2008 production, got to be a bit much. They took up as much time as the actual “Comedy of Errors,” and while West wrote sharp, screwball comedy dialogue, he’s not Shakespeare. I was let down when a bread-throwing, door-slamming “Comedy of Errors” scene ended, the director (played by Ross Lehman) yelled “cut,” and we got more of the studio plot. The frame overwhelmed the picture.
Of course, this won’t be a problem for everyone—a friend favored the non-Shakespeare part.
Antipholus of Syracuse (Robert Petkoff) is seduced by Adriana (Susan Moniz) in “The Comedy of Errors”/Photo: Liz Lauren
The 1941 portion has a beautiful period feel—it seems like the kind of breezy movie you’d see from this time, with Deborah Kerr, Rex Harrison, and a “V for Victory” exhortation in the final credits. There are even some swing-era musical numbers, performed by members of the ensemble, including “Hold Tight” and “We’ll Meet Again.”
Antipholus of Syracuse is played in the framing plot by Emerson Furbelow (Robert Petkoff), a vain, mustachioed actor of the Errol Flynn type, known for swashbucklers. He’s having an affair with the director’s wife, Veronica (Susan Moniz), who plays Adriana—she’s a glamorous Vivien Leigh type who shaves nine years off her age. There’s also an American crooner (Dan Chameroy), who gets the Antipholus of Ephesus part due to his celebrity despite having no idea how to recite Shakespeare. He manages, all of a sudden, to deliver his lines perfectly—a miracle you’ll just have to accept. Chicago Shakespeare veteran Kevin Gudahl is the highbrow Lord Brian Hallifax who wanted to be an Antipholus but has to settle for a Dromio—a running gag is that he keeps trying to squeeze the St. Crispin’s Day speech from “Henry V” into the movie.
The production features gorgeous forties costumes by Mieka Van Der Ploeg and hairstyles by Richard Jarvie, with a colorful set by James Noone.
Petkoff, Moniz, Gudahl, and longtime Chicago Shakespeare heavyweight Greg Vinkler (as Admiral Philpot and Egeon) are the best at doing that lovely, mannered forties style of performing (it would be cool to see Petkoff in “Captain Blood”) and delivering wonderful Shakespeare. Also excellent are Steve McDonagh as a salty, working class stage hand who plays Nell the cook because he fits the dress, and founding ensemble member Bruce A. Young as both Duke Solinus and Monty, a cameraman who fears he has lost his own two sons at sea. In their characters, both Vinkler and Young bring a touch of dignified sorrow to the whimsy.
“The Comedy of Errors,” Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 East Grand on Navy Pier. Through April 16.
