ALMOST DIVINE 'COMEDY' VERBIAGE GIVES WAY TO VERVE IN SHAKESPEARE'S BELOVED FARCE.Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic Though it may seem like heresy to say so, when performing a work of Shakespeare's, it is possible for actors to fall too deeply in love with the play's language. A temptation, surely, but not always the best course of action. Witness ``The Comedy of Errors,'' one of the Bard's earliest works. A mistaken-identity romp involving two sets of twins, a love story and a family reunion Often an annual event, a family reunion takes place on a specified day each year for the purpose of keeping an extended family closer together. Some reunions may be held less often. , ``Errors'' usually needs pacing more than poetry to be an effective outing. During the early part of Danny Scheie's production at A Noise Within, the company has it backward with the actors seeming to delight in exploring language and - heaven help us! - character development rather than pushing the story along. Thankfully, matters get manic after intermission once the production's heavy farcical far·ci·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to farce. 2. a. Resembling a farce; ludicrous. b. Ridiculously clumsy; absurd. far elements kick in, and the scene at the play's conclusion where everything is explained is just about priceless. A gifted master of mayhem who piloted Shakespeare Santa Cruz Shakespeare Santa Cruz is a professional theatre Festival founded in 1981 and held annually on the campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Plays by Shakespeare and other great dramatists are performed indoors on the UCSC Theatre Arts Mainstage and outdoors in a redwood grove. in the early 1990s, Scheie has directed this production several times before, both in Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern and Seattle, albeit with different actors. Plugged into the framework, the Noise Within actors - most of them resident company members - are game if not always perfectly in sync. Some handle the language; others are vintage scene-chewers, which this production invites. Demands, even. The production's concept: A large wooden boxlike facade designed by Rick Ortenblad is the central entranceway and changing area. A cast of nine - most of whom take on at least two roles - weave in and out through a series of sliding doors and windowlike panels, such that the straitlaced Duke of Ephesus (played by Richard Soto) can hold a conversation with a big-haired courtesan cour·te·san n. A woman prostitute, especially one whose clients are members of a royal court or men of high social standing. [French courtisane, from Old French, from Old Italian cortigiana , also played by Soto. Granted, it's gimmicky gim·mick n. 1. a. A device employed to cheat, deceive, or trick, especially a mechanism for the secret and dishonest control of gambling apparatus. b. An innovative or unusual mechanical contrivance; a gadget. , but it's funny and it works. Donald Sage Mackay plays both Antipholi; Louis Lotorto is the twin servants each named Dromio, with a change of accents and a pair of spectacles reminding us who's who Who’s Who biographical dictionary of notable living people. [Am. Hist.: Hart, 922] See : Fame . The two actors are skilled and versatile enough that even those unfamiliar with the plot should have no trouble telling twin from twin, and therefore getting the humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was . Shakespeare's plotting unleashes the confusion. World-traveling Antipholus of Syracuse comes to Ephesus in search of his long-lost twin brother. In tow is his wise-acre servant Dromio who has lost a twin brother (also named Dromio) in the same shipping accident that divided the Antipholi. Unbeknownst to the Syracuse duo, their missing twins actually live in Ephesus. Townsfolk and family members are constantly mistaking an Antipholus or a Dromio for his counterpart (i.e. ``I gave you money this morning.'' ``Uh-uh. Wasn't me.''). Advice to parents with twins: Don't give both children the same name. The first half hour or so is a bit of a slog, despite the huffing huffing, n the inhalation of common household products such as glue, solvents, hair spray, or gasoline to obtain a temporary euphoria. Specifically, huffing refers to soaking a rag, toilet paper, or sock in the household substance and inhaling. and puffing of Deborah Strang as the Antipholi father Egeon who uses a slide projector to explain how the twins got separated in the first place. And once Mackay and Lotorto start heating up and the panels start slamming, it's hard for an audience not to get drawn in. ``THE COMEDY OF ERRORS'' Where: A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. When: Plays in repertory through May 26; call for show times and days. Tickets: $16 to $40. Call (323) 953-7795. Our rating: Three stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Deborah Strang, left, Don Mackay Donald Mackay, (born March 19 1940 in Perth), is a Scottish former football player and manager. As player He was a goalkeeper and played for Forfar Athletic, Dundee United, and Southend United during his playing career. and Louis Lotorto (in window) all take on more than one role in A Noise Within's ``The Comedy of Errors.'' |
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