From April 18-23, The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare was presented by the ECU / Loessin Playhouse at McGinnis Theatre.  The contributors of the play were director Robert Caprio, scenic designer Robert C. Alpers, costume designer Jeffery Phillips, lighting and sound designer Ken White, choreographer Tommi Overcash Galaska, and production stage manager Mandy L. Berryónot to mention the entire cast and behind-the-scenes folks.  This humorous play proved very entertaining, although some of the acting was a bit overdone.

In case youíve never read this Shakespeare play or have forgotten the highly convoluted plot, it is basically the story of two twins (both with the same name--Antipholus) and their two twin slaves (both named Dromio), who are separated at birth while at sea with their father Aegeon, a merchant from Syracuse, and their mother, Aemilia.  One twin and one slave end up with Aegeon and go back to live in Syracuse; the other twin and slave are rescued along with their mother Aemilia, who are all taken to Ephesus.  When the son living with Aegeon turns eighteen, he is curious to know his brother, so he sets out on a journey to find him and his mother.  When his son is gone for five years, his worried father Aegeon goes to search for him, but is unfortunately arrested for crossing the Ephesian border.  The play opens with Aegeon telling Solinus, Duke of Ephesus, his woes.  The remainder, as can be imagined, is a series of mix-ups, culminating in the revealed identities of all parties involved.

As I sat in the theatre on opening night, I was immediately impressed by the set, of which the focal point was part of an Ephesian village, complete with a simulated body of water on which a boat would later sail. In Scene 2, the curtain opened on a bright, colorful market in Ephesus, complete with sellers of wares and prostitutes. There was also a noticeable undercurrent of witchcraft and references to Puritanism.

As the scene opened with Aegeon (played by Chris Hill) and Duke Solinus (played by Andrew McNeal), I noticed that the duke seemed more pompous than gracious and sympathetic, which I had read him to be.Thankfully, each Antipholus looked and dressed slightly different, and the two Dromios wore different coloreds (blue and red), not to mention one was much shorter than the other, so sons and slaves were easily distinguishable.  The performance of the Dromios was the funniest part of the playóespecially that of Gavin Grissom, who I felt was by far the best performer.  The two main women charactersóAdriana, wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, and Luciana, Adrianaís sisterówere not portrayed as two distinct personalities, and needed to beóboth played shrewish, mean-tempered women, while the play calls for Luciana to be a sweet, meek, compassionate character in order to temper Adrianaís hostility. Perhaps due to opening night nerves, these two roles were a bit forced and overacted.  Jordan Barwick, the merchant, did a fine acting jobóhis mannerisms and jolly disposition fit his character to a tee.

The choreography was greatóespecially the identical motions and movements of the two Dromios, who, at one point were facing the audience, squatting side by side, rocking on their heels, sitting on the floor, falling asleep, standing up the same wayóall perfectly synchronized.  Also, at times the whole cast was involved in directed movementóas when Duke Solinus arrived and everyone bowed at the same time as he passed.  At one point, the cast froze while a character delivered a soliloquy.  This added comical cohesion to an already funny play.

It seemed some of the better acting was accomplished by those with smaller roles.  There were good performances by the gaoler accompanying Aegeon (Michael Schmitt), the ìguardî dressed in black who polices Antipholus (Joe Anderson), and the servant who runs to Adriana, saying ìThey will kill the conjurerî (Heather Houston).

With the exception of some ìerrorsî in character portrayal, this was just what it was meant to beóa funny, lighthearted comedy.  Bravo to everyone involved.