Two sets of twins, separated at birth
In fair Ephesus, where we lay our scene,
Scamper through the streets creating mirth
Until truth’s unraveled as all careen.
It may not be as poetic as the prologue to “Romeo and Juliet,” but it’s a fair plot summary of William Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors.”
The bard’s first comedy and shortest play is this summer’s offering from Ten Bucks Theatre Company.
It opened last Thursday at Indian Trail Park in Brewer and continues there this week before moving to Fort Knox in Prospect next week. The play is full of mistaken identities and miscommunications, slapstick and drollery in a satisfying but uneven production.
Director Julie Arnold Lisnet fails to mine the script for all the physical comedy it holds, but the cast, for the most part, delivers a fun evening of theater.
Patrick Malloy is delightful as Antipholus of Ephesus, one of the separated twins. He perfectly allows the character’s frustration and anger to build to an explosion in the final act. Malloy’s melodious vocal tones are a perfect match for the bard’s language.
The performance by his “twin,” Nathan Roach as Antipholus of Syracuse, does not match Malloy’s, even though the two have similar physical features. Roach is adequate in the role but falls short of Malloy’s depth of character or pacing. It’s also nearly impossible to distinguish this role from others Roach has performed.
Adam Cousins and Brogan Kelley are wonderfully frantic and marvelously frazzled as the servant twins, both named Dromio. The actors look nothing alike but give their characters similar enough mannerisms that theatergoers can suspend their disbelief and believe the two look so much alike their masters, the Antipholi, cannot tell them apart.
Many of the laughs in “The Comedy of Errors” stem from the servants’ interactions with the man each thinks is his master but is really his twin. Cousins and Kelley allow their reactions in these encounters to slowly build to the point where both characters are convinced they’ve crossed into the bard’s version of “The Twilight Zone.” Cousins and Kelley are equally delightful.
As Luciana, Aimee Gerow gives the woman more charm and depth than Shakespeare did. Her layered performance stands in stark contrast to that of Katie Toole as Adriana, the wife of Antipholus of Ephesus (Nathan Roach). Toole gives a one-note performance — shrill. She could have been strident and showy or brazen and brash without being so shrewish.
Egeon, the long lost father of the Antipholi, delivers much of the exposition as the play begins. Ron Lisnet’s years of experience performing Shakespeare are evident. He quickly and easily makes the language accessible and sets up the plot of misadventures.
Gibran Graham has tough challenges as Duke Solinus in trying to sort out which servant belongs to which master and who owes whom just how many ducats. Graham, who serves on the Bangor City Council and may wish he could take the duke’s sword to meetings, is properly regal and justifiably confounded in the role.
Supporting cast members, including Ben Layman in a fun turn as a nun, and Moira Beale as the goldsmith Angelina, give fine performances
Toole and Beale’s costumes are wonderful. The identical costumes worn by the twins make up for the actors’ physical differences. Brent Hutchins’ set, nestled toward the back of the park, allows theatergoers to feel as if they are eavesdropping on neighbors. That experience may be different for an audience at Fort Knox.
Ten Bucks took up the Shakespeare mantle in 2004 after Penobscot Theatre Company’s Maine Shakespeare Festival folded. The amateur company has performed one of the bard’s plays outside most summers since.
Despite a few flaws, “The Comedy of Errors” is worth the trip to Brewer or Bucksport, because seeing Shakespeare outside is always magical.
“The Comedy of Errors” will be performed through Saturday at 6 p.m. and at 4 p.m. Sunday at Indian Trail Park in Brewer. It also will be performed at 6 p.m. Aug. 4-7 at Fort Knox in Prospect. For more information, call 844-1030 or visit tenbuckstheatre.org.
Editor’s note: Judy Harrison’s son Padraic Harrison is vice president of Ten Bucks Theatre Company but was not involved in the production “The Comedy of Errors.”