"The Comedy of Errors" at the Riverside Theatre Festival Stage -- August 13 through 22.
Friday, August 13, through Sunday, August 22
Riverside Theatre Festival Stage, Lower City Park, Iowa City IA
With the second of its two summertime Shakespeare productions held in Iowa City's Lower City Park, Riverside Theatre delivers one of the Bard's freshest and funniest titles in its August 13 through 22 staging of The Comedy of Errors – a work that esteemed literary critic Harold Bloom said “reveals Shakespeare's magnificence at the art of comedy” and demonstrated “mastery in action, incipient character, and stagecraft.”
Set in the Greek city of Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors tells the tale of two sets of identical twins who were accidentally separated at birth. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers: Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and false accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and even demonic possession.
One of Shakespare's earliest plays, it is also his shortest and one of his most farcical works, with much of the humor coming from slapstick, puns, and wordplay. The Comedy of Errors is also one of only two Shakespearean plays (the other being The Tempest) to observe the Aristotelian principle of unity of time in that the events of a play should occur over 24 hours. Shakespeare's work has been adapted for opera, stage, screen, and musical theatre numerous times worldwide, and in the centuries following its premiere, the play's title has entered the popular English lexicon as an idiom for “an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout.”
Angie Toomey serves as director for Riverside Theatre's The Comedy of Errors, with her artistic crew composed of stage manager Heather Michele Lawler, assistant stage managers Kyle Schindler and Olivia Leslie, scenic and lighting designer S. benjamin Farrar, costume designer Melonie Stoll, sound designer and technical director Chris Rich, and COVID safety officers Mandy Davis and Olivia Leslie. Comedy of Errors' Antipholus twins are portrayed by Actors Equity Association members Patrick DuLaney and Logan Ernstthal, while the Dromio brothers are played by Elijah Jones and Ray Vanek. And completing Riverside Theatre's ensemble cast are Hartsgrove Mooers (Adriana), Genevieve Wisdom (Luciana), Noel VanDenBosch (Courtesan), Karlē Meyers (Abbess), Tad Paulson (Egeon), and Matthew James (Angelo).
The Comedy of Errors will be performed on Lower City Park's Riverside Theatre Festival Stage from August 13 through 22, with productions taking place Thursdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Shows will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by lawn activities, games, and refreshments, admission is free, and more information is available by visiting RiversideTheatre.org.
