Review: Old Globe’s high-octane ‘Comedy of Errors’ a fun ’90s throwback

by Pam Kragen

While it’s true that William Shakespeare’s 1590s-era play “The Comedy of Errors” didn’t include the line “chill, my dude” or references to the TV shows “Friends” and “Beavis and Butt-Head,” it’s also true that the Bard would likely have enjoyed the play’s latest iteration that opened Saturday on the Old Globe’s outdoor festival stage in Balboa Park.

“The Comedy of Errors” was a box-office hit 400 years ago, thanks to its broad, slapstick humor and its silly wisp of a story about the mistaken identity chaos that occurs when two sets of identically named twins — each separated in infancy by a shipwreck — end up in the same town of Ephesus a quarter-century later.

Lisa VillaMil as Courtesan, left, Will Blum as Dromio of Syracuse and Brandon Micheal Hall as Antipholus of Syracuse in the Old Globe's outdoor production of "The Comedy of Errors." (Jim Cox) — Lisa VillaMil as Courtesan, left, Will Blum as Dromio of Syracuse and Brandon Micheal Hall as Antipholus of Syracuse in the Old Globe’s outdoor production of “The Comedy of Errors.” (Jim Cox)

With so little meat to work with in the script, directors have always leaned into creating physical comedy, visual humor, dance and musical moments to flesh out the story. That’s exactly what director James Vásquez has done in the Globe’s funny, endearing and entertaining new production, where his Ephesus is a 1990s-era gritty American-style city with a nightclub, auto repair shop, tattoo parlor and motel.

Vásquez has smartly trimmed the play to 90 intermissionless minutes and stuffed it with amusing references to ’90s-era music, movies, TV, slang, fashion, fads and food. And, he has done it while retaining Shakespeare’s original rhyming couplets style. It’s the kind of nostalgic, dance-filled show that keeps you smiling, laughing and tapping your toes to the end.

A scene from the Old Globe's outdoor production of Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors." (Jim Cox) — A scene from the Old Globe’s outdoor production of Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors.” (Jim Cox)

Antipholus of Ephesus is a hard-partying, in-control businessman with a wife, a mistress on the side and a loyal servant who keeps his secrets named Dromio of Ephesus. Their lives are disrupted when a boat arrives carrying the wide-eyed innocent Antipholus of Syracuse and his eager but unsophisticated servant, Dromio of Syracuse.

Comedy ensues when Antipholus of Ephesus’ lonely wife, Adriana, mistakes his long-lost twin for her husband, and money intended by the Antipholuses for various goods and services gets handed to the wrong Dromios.

Standout performers include the highly limber Sarah Stiles as the sex-starved and heavily permed Adriana, the boyish Will Blum as a frenetic, popcorn-munching Dromio of Syracuse and Heather Velazquez as Adriana’s sweet but sad-eyed sister Luciana.

Joshua Echebiri, as Antipholus of Ephesus and Brandon Micheal Hall as Antipholus of Syracuse look similar but contrast each other well in physicality and personality. And Daniel Petzold has a seen-it-all quality as Dromio of Ephesus.

Amanda Vander Byl’s costumes for the twins look similar but with slight differences, and they reflect the fabric patterns, hues and styles of the ’90s. Lawrence E. Moten III designed the urban, neon-light-enhanced scenery, Melanie Chen Cole designed sound and Sherrice Mojgani designed lighting.

Some of this production’s best moments involve the clever use of ’90s song snippets with apt lyrics that suit the story. Listen for the Backstreet Boys, Ace of Base, Coolio and Suzanne Vega, among others. And you can’t miss the many references to the sit-com “Friends,” from the characters’ names used as a password to the multicolor umbrellas from the TV show’s intro.

Thanks to today’s ubiquity of social media and streaming services, ’90s popular culture is just as familiar to Americans in their 20s as their 60s, so this production has universal appeal and its fast-paced, feel-good and funny.