The Nonesuch Players Present: The Comedy of Errors
The Nonesuch Players’ production of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors opens on Thursday, November 10, at 7:00 p.m. with additional shows on Friday, November 11, at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 12, at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the Haffenreffer Black Box Theater.
This is the first time the Players have tackled Shakespeare since they produced Twelfth Night in 2012 and while the script has been tweaked here and there by director Juliet Bailey, this production remains true to the Bard’s beloved comedy.
“I was looking for a goofy and ridiculous show that would be different from the intense drama that The Laramie Project was [last fall],” Ms. Bailey said. “There is lots of opportunity for big-time farce – mistaken identities, chaos, lots of physical humor and stage combat – and a lot of very big, theatrical, clowny stuff that we can do. The Comedy of Errors fit the bill completely.”
The style of the play is also a departure from the monologue structure of The Laramie Project and while the cast is smaller than last year, so too is the number of roles. With the time to delve deeper into their characters, the cast has been able to explore how best to convey the comedy in Shakespeare’s writing.
“The audience doesn’t have the same opportunity to digest and decipher the meaning of each line like we do,” said Dominique Marshall ’18. “They really only see the action, hear the words, and get the gist of what we’re trying to say.”
“You need to be really physical in order to have the audience understand what the line means,” Phie Jacobs ’18 added. “They aren’t going to laugh at the lines, so it is on us to use our actions or slow down the lines or emphasize the pieces of dialogue that are meant to draw a laugh.”
Ms. Bailey has combined three different interpretations of the play and shifted the setting to Las Vegas, trading a shipwreck for a plane crash and adding Elvis to really bring the Vegas setting to life. Already Shakespeare’s shortest comedy, the adaptations have tightened the show to just about 90 minutes of raucous comedy.
“This is such a wacky and ridiculous show that has something for every comedic taste,” Ms. Bailey said. “From stuffed snakes, to pink flamingos, to twins that look nothing alike, to the comedic chemistry between the characters – it’s just a good laugh. And with the length – come out, have a laugh, then go back to work!”
“They say: What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas,” said Joshua Polanco-Calderon ’17. “So if you want to experience the show and really know what it’s all about, you’re just going to have to come out and see it.”
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