Annapolis Shakespeare Company - Bowie, Maryland
August 9, 2012
Chelsea - !?!
Brad - B
I've always loved skittles. They are a delicious candy. As a kid, my Poppy would take me to the bean-bean store and treat me to a bag of skittles. Those days were the best. What do skittles have to do with the Comedy of Errors? Well, the skittles Chelsea and I got at intermission were the best part of this production.
The Play: Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Ephesus arrive in Syracuse. Dromio is Antipholus's servant. Unbeknownst to them, Syracuse is home to Antipholus of Syracuse and Dromio of Syracuse. The two Antipholi and the two Dromios are actually two sets of identical twins separated at birth! So, now you've got two sets of people that look identical wandering around the same small city, a city who thinks there is only one Antipholus and one Dromio. So, throughout the course of the play, merchants, wives, and mistresses all assume they are talking to Antipholus of Syracuse when they are actually talking to Antipholus of Ephesus. At the end of the play, it turns out Antipholi's parents are also both in Syracuse. The last scene is one huge family reunion. Very sweet.
The Production: The director made the choice to make this a slapstick comedy. So, there was a lot of physical humor --- slapping, kicking, nose-honking, etc. And every time --- every time --- one character hit another character --- which happened seemingly three times a minute --- a woman sitting on stage would honk a horn. And every time --- every time --- one character kicked another character --- which happened seemingly three times a minute --- a woman sitting on stage would ring a bell. So, every time there was physical humor, there was a corresponding sound effect. FOR TWO COMPLETE HOURS! In addition, there was time travel --- which was never fully explained --- Rocky Horror Picture Show-esque costumes, and dance numbers.
In the brief moments between slaps and sound effects, some of the actors did a good job.
This was the first production we've seriously considered leaving at intermission. And that is saying something considering we've seen some rough shows. Mama said, "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything." With that in mind the nicest thing I can say about this production is, man, those skittles were good!
Brad of Ephesus
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