Hartford Stage, Hartford, CT
through February 12, 2017
by Shera Cohen
I just don’t “get” Shakespeare, says any random person.
Wrong, says I.
Hartford Stage has presented Shakespeare’s plays for over 40
years. Trust me, they “got it,” and so will you. Set aside all worries,
particularly about the language. It’s fine if you don’t comprehend it all – the
essence is there, not to mention that it is spoken in beautiful Elizabethan
poetry.
As with many of Shakespeare’s comedies, “Errors” includes
the standard elements: mistaken identity, physical humor, malaprops, fast farce
comings and goings, running up and down stairs, and oftentimes a rubber
chicken.
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| Tyler Lansing Weaks & Mahira Kakkar |
Set in a 1950’s Greek island, the piece is a combination of
“Zorba the Greek,” “Beach Blanket Bingo,” Syn’s K-pop, and Bollywood. How can a
full-length Shakespearean play (they are usually long) be jammed into a
90-minute one-act, while at the same time adding music and dance? Yet, in the
end, “Errors” is one of the Bard’s best and most popular plays.
At the crux of the plot are two Antipholuses and two Dromios
– twin babies separated aboard
ship during a cruel storm, portrayed here byy Adora Baby Dolls. Jump ahead many
years, and it’s no spoiler alert that the townsfolk confuse the two pair, and
they even confuse each other. However, one Antipholus is married, the other
not. The story unfolds. Actors Ryan-James Hatanaka and Tyler Lansing Weaks do
not look alike, only similar. Setting the nitpicking aside, it is important
that the already cued-in audience see the identity mix-up. The same holds true
for the Dromios, Alan Schumackler and Matthew Macca, as they bumble around,
take pratfalls, and get the most laughs. Ancillary characters include an aging
prostitute (Paula Leggett Chase gives “Never on Sunday” a sweet touch), the
scullery made (Tara Heal in full body padding resembling 400 lbs. is an
unbelievably skilled gymnast), and old and tottering Aegeon (Noble Shropshire,
a regular standout in the Pioneer Valley). Ever present are Louis Tucci and
Alenxander Sovronsky on mandolin or guitar, with double duty as sound effects
men.
“Errors” is presented in Technicolor, vivid shades of the
rainbow in its Greek setting complete with dock, village, and house of ill
repute. Costumes are bold and flashy, colors straight out of a crayon box.
Each year, Hartford Stage sets its own bar so high that it
seems too difficult to outshine their previously mounted Shakespeare play.
Director Darko Tresnjak has more than successfully done that.
