'The Comedy of Errors'

The epitome of a wonderful summer evening in NYC is a visit to The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in The Park, especially if you are lucky enough to snare a free ticket.

However, it’s been a rainy June and with trepidation, I listened to the forecast and watched the skies. It didn’t look good, and the prediction was a bit ominous. Luckily, the predicted storms passed to our south. The clouds cleared, the moon shone and all was well for the performance of The Comedy of Errors starring two Public Theater regulars, Hamish Linklater (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family.”)

The background for the story is set immediately. Using dolls he carries in his suitcase, Egeon (Jonathan Hadary) tells his tale of woe about the shipwreck that separated him, his wife, their twins sons and their twin servants. Unable to find the others, Egeon returns home to Syracuse with only one son and one servant. Now years later, his son Antipholos (Linklater) and his servant Dromio (Ferguson) have set out to find their twin brothers. Unfortunately, Egeon hasn’t heard from them in years and fears that they are lost as well. So he goes to look for them, even risking death by landing in Ephesus where it’s against the law for a citizen of Syracuse to enter.

The young men’s search has actually ended because, unbeknownst to them, they have landed in the city where their missing twins have settled. Comedy of Errors is 90 minutes of mistaken identities, missing money and marital infidelity. The events are so confusing that people become convinced that Antipholus has gone mad. By the end, as with all the Shakespearean comedies, the play ends happily with everyone reuniting.

The play begins with a sextet doing some impressive jitterbugging. Their dances and the costumes of the Duke’s entourage create a 1940’s feeling. The henchmen, quick to pull their guns, are reminiscent of the non-threatening mobsters in Kiss Me Kate.

In a unique bit of casting, four roles are played by two actors. Linklater plays both Antipholos and Ferguson is both Dromios. Very little distinguishes the twins: Nothing more than a colored flower and a colored hatband. Ferguson is a likable clown, playful and limber. Because of the confused identities, he winds up being beaten by his master, having a plate of spaghetti upturned on his head and chased by a huge kitchen maid (his twin’s fiancee.) Linklater is gentler as one character and swaggers a bit as the other. As Antipholos’ wife in Ephesus, Emily Bergl is funny and feisty, especially as she pleads with her brother-in-law to come to her bed.

Director Dan Sullivan has fun with his talented cast and the audience shares in the merriment. The play went by quickly, the clouds held up and all ended happily ever after.