Theater review: Comedy of Errors
Oct. 17th, 2024 11:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
troisoiseauxI don't know if I've ever fallen quite so hard for a specific production of a play I didn't already have strong feelings about as the STC's Comedy of Errors, but I ended up seeing it three times. This production turned the comedic sidekicks into main characters by casting Alex Brightman and David Fynn (who both played the lead role in the School of Rock musical, on Broadway and the West End, respectively) as long-lost twins Dromio and Dromio, servants of long-lost twins Antipholus and Antipholus. It's also a musical, and is apparently set in the '90s, although the set/costume design is sort of a grab bag of aesthetics. (You can get a sense here.)
This turned out to be a great show to see multiple times, because I saw a slightly different cast each time— the second night I went had the understudy for both Dromios covering for Brightman as Dromio of Syracuse, and the third had the Antipholi's understudy as Antipholus of Syracuse. (Plus trickle-down shifts in the ensemble parts, as the understudies' understudies stepped in.) Even aside from that, the performances were noticeably different each time: a lot of ad-libbing and improvised physical comedy bits, and last night I noticed that both Brightman and Fynn played some scenes differently than they had in the previous show(s).
This show was very much designed around Brightman and Fynn— who are both phenomenal physical comedians, and look enough alike that between the costuming, slight-of-hand staging, and playing their roles with uncannily similar mannerisms, the first time I saw this it took me fully until Act 2 to figure out how to tell them apart, and by that point I'd long since lost track of which Dromio was paired with which Antipholus— but honestly, the entire cast is fantastic. Just 10/10 comedic timing all around, but especially Shayvawn Webster, who plays Antipholus of Ephesus' long-suffering wife Adriana. I also think one of the things that charmed me so much about this show is how the cast clearly has a lot of fun performing it??
Last night's performance had a post-show discussion with some of the ensemble cast and someone from the production team, so I learned some fun details from that:
- Most of the show's musical numbers were adapted from poems by John Masefield: the songs based on "Sea-Fever" and "The West Wind" both had a "musical theater sea shanties" vibe; the big finale was based on "A Wanderer's Song". Act 1 closed with an upbeat, jazzy take on Henry Purcell's "Tis Women" that sounds like the kind of music that would play during a comedic chase scene through a 1920s nightclub, and Act 2 opens with a musical number - featuring the two Dromios popping on- and off-stage and just missing each other; this is where I finally figured out how to tell Fynn and Brightman apart during the first show, because the slight-of-hand staging got overly cocky* - based on "Phillida and Coridon" by Nicholas Breton.
* The illusion actually is successful if facing the stage straight-on; I just happened to be in/at the right spot/angle to see into the wings as they switched places.
- At least one scene was totally reworked from the original Shakespeare: the scene where Dromio of Syracuse mocks the servant woman who "claimed him for a husband" was shuffled around so that the joke is on Dromio— some of the meaner lines were cut, and the bawdy euphemisms are an exchange between Antipholus (of Syracuse) and Nell (the servant), about Dromio, rather than between Antipholus and Dromio about the unseen Nell.
From skimming the actual Shakespearean text for comparison, it looks like the script was trimmed down overall— there's a lot of random lines that don't ring a bell. I'm curious whether/to what extent this played into my impression that Fynn got more to work with from the script— Dromio of Ephesus gets a couple of speeches about the abuse he suffers from his master, which Fynn delivers with a sincerity that makes for a poignant contrast with his gonzo slapstick scenes and invoked audible "AWWWs" from the audience at last night's show— while Brightman got less to work with from the script but more space to do his whole chaotic improv thing...?
Speaking of which, last night I sat in the fourth row from the stage— tl;dr I'd gotten a free ticket because the post-show discussion was supposed to happen the first night I went, and because they rescheduled and I'm a season subscriber, I got to see it again for free?? and it was a really good seat??— so while I was not in danger of any direct audience interaction, I was definitely in the metaphorical splash zone of Brightman's chaotic "getting up in the audience's face" energy, including but not limited to: scooting between a row of seats, perching on the arm of someone's aisle seat, literally screaming in someone's face, and pretending to pluck a hair from someone's head. (The last of which led to a particularly funny ad-lib last night, because the person sitting in the designated seat happened to be bald.) The audience interactions are apparently a Brightman specialty; understudy Jacob Brandt only incorporated the last one into his performance the night I saw him as Dromio of Syracuse.
(As a side note to my side note, I'm amused by how the fact Brightman has a fan following means this show is actually getting attention on Tumblr. THERE'S FANART.)
This turned out to be a great show to see multiple times, because I saw a slightly different cast each time— the second night I went had the understudy for both Dromios covering for Brightman as Dromio of Syracuse, and the third had the Antipholi's understudy as Antipholus of Syracuse. (Plus trickle-down shifts in the ensemble parts, as the understudies' understudies stepped in.) Even aside from that, the performances were noticeably different each time: a lot of ad-libbing and improvised physical comedy bits, and last night I noticed that both Brightman and Fynn played some scenes differently than they had in the previous show(s).
This show was very much designed around Brightman and Fynn— who are both phenomenal physical comedians, and look enough alike that between the costuming, slight-of-hand staging, and playing their roles with uncannily similar mannerisms, the first time I saw this it took me fully until Act 2 to figure out how to tell them apart, and by that point I'd long since lost track of which Dromio was paired with which Antipholus— but honestly, the entire cast is fantastic. Just 10/10 comedic timing all around, but especially Shayvawn Webster, who plays Antipholus of Ephesus' long-suffering wife Adriana. I also think one of the things that charmed me so much about this show is how the cast clearly has a lot of fun performing it??
Last night's performance had a post-show discussion with some of the ensemble cast and someone from the production team, so I learned some fun details from that:
- Most of the show's musical numbers were adapted from poems by John Masefield: the songs based on "Sea-Fever" and "The West Wind" both had a "musical theater sea shanties" vibe; the big finale was based on "A Wanderer's Song". Act 1 closed with an upbeat, jazzy take on Henry Purcell's "Tis Women" that sounds like the kind of music that would play during a comedic chase scene through a 1920s nightclub, and Act 2 opens with a musical number - featuring the two Dromios popping on- and off-stage and just missing each other; this is where I finally figured out how to tell Fynn and Brightman apart during the first show, because the slight-of-hand staging got overly cocky* - based on "Phillida and Coridon" by Nicholas Breton.
* The illusion actually is successful if facing the stage straight-on; I just happened to be in/at the right spot/angle to see into the wings as they switched places.
- At least one scene was totally reworked from the original Shakespeare: the scene where Dromio of Syracuse mocks the servant woman who "claimed him for a husband" was shuffled around so that the joke is on Dromio— some of the meaner lines were cut, and the bawdy euphemisms are an exchange between Antipholus (of Syracuse) and Nell (the servant), about Dromio, rather than between Antipholus and Dromio about the unseen Nell.
From skimming the actual Shakespearean text for comparison, it looks like the script was trimmed down overall— there's a lot of random lines that don't ring a bell. I'm curious whether/to what extent this played into my impression that Fynn got more to work with from the script— Dromio of Ephesus gets a couple of speeches about the abuse he suffers from his master, which Fynn delivers with a sincerity that makes for a poignant contrast with his gonzo slapstick scenes and invoked audible "AWWWs" from the audience at last night's show— while Brightman got less to work with from the script but more space to do his whole chaotic improv thing...?
Speaking of which, last night I sat in the fourth row from the stage— tl;dr I'd gotten a free ticket because the post-show discussion was supposed to happen the first night I went, and because they rescheduled and I'm a season subscriber, I got to see it again for free?? and it was a really good seat??— so while I was not in danger of any direct audience interaction, I was definitely in the metaphorical splash zone of Brightman's chaotic "getting up in the audience's face" energy, including but not limited to: scooting between a row of seats, perching on the arm of someone's aisle seat, literally screaming in someone's face, and pretending to pluck a hair from someone's head. (The last of which led to a particularly funny ad-lib last night, because the person sitting in the designated seat happened to be bald.) The audience interactions are apparently a Brightman specialty; understudy Jacob Brandt only incorporated the last one into his performance the night I saw him as Dromio of Syracuse.
(As a side note to my side note, I'm amused by how the fact Brightman has a fan following means this show is actually getting attention on Tumblr. THERE'S FANART.)
