Get some Will power with "Comedy of Errors" at Theater in the Round

How do you help audiences understand Shakespeare's English? Any theater company that takes on a classic has to grapple with this question. Theater in the Round, in Minneapolis, navigates this question well in their production of Comedy of Errors, directed by Kari Steinbeck. Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare's shortest plays, its run time is ninety minutes.  The plot is that of mistaken identity and self-discovery concerning two sets of twins-the Antipholuses and the Dromios-who are separated by a storm at sea,

Slave Dromio and his master Antipholus travel from Syracuse (a modern-day island of Sicily) to search for their siblings in Ephesus. Both the Antipholus twins and the Dromios dress alike- the Dromios in blue and green overalls respectively and the Antipholus twins in beach shorts and pollo shirts. Dromio are perfect twin duos. In fact, at one point their actions were so similar I thought these two were one of the same.

Its undeniable that the twins, Dromio of Ephesus (Aidan Jhane Gallivan) and Dromio of Syracuse( Autumn Sisson) personalities ground every scene. Their gestures were incredibly helpful in understanding the plot and humor even if I was struggling with the language. The characters movements on stage reflect every wisecrack, pun, or moment when a behavior is being exaggerated. These two are bullied; their ears pulled and prodded, put in headlocks, pushed and pulled offstage. I immediately associated the two of them to be that of Hayley Mills or even modern day Hannah Montana.

When Aegeon, a Syracusan merchant father comes to Ephesus in search of his missing family, he is sentenced to death by the Duke because the law forbids merchants from Syracuse to enter Ephesus. It then becomes necessary for Aegeon to tell his side of the story. This is done with a carousel slide projector that creates the illusion of pictures on stage. Each time the stage lights flash, actors pose statuesque in different freeze frames to depict a flash back of Aegeon’s (John Goodrich) life before he’s taken in handcuffs. Non-stop laughter ensues after each new frame. Aegeon is holding his twins in one frame, and in the next, the whole cast is standing beside him. It is beyond me how the cast moves so fast in the dark given the time allowed for each new frame. By the end of this fantastic scene, the duke is convinced and grants Aegeon one day to pay his fine.

Director Kari Steinbeck makes use of fifties songs like Maybe I Know and That’s the Way Boys Are by Lesley Gore to aid in comic confusion, especially in scenes where characters are behaving badly.


This Shakespearean production is highly agreeable for any audience.

I know who did it! 'Towards Zero' an Agatha Christie Mystery at Theater in the Round

Towards Zero, directed by Wendy Resch Novak is a mystery play by Agatha Christie. It runs at Theatre in the Round in downtown, Minneapolis through December 15th.

If you have ever found yourself curling up with a great Agatha Christie novel, you might like how Novak recreates this mystery. Theatre in the Round provides Novak with a perfect setting. She uses the rising rows of seats to create a cliff complete with a platform and scenery rocks from which the actors descend a set of stairs to look center stage into the lives of characters who may be accessories to a murder. In my experience, it's best not to sit in areas with isolated chairs as you’ll be positioned behind a pole and your head will be moving like a ping pong match for the whole play.

It’s easy to understand why each character was chosen for their part. The astute inspector (David Coral) was perfect for his role as he came off as both serious and funny. In fact, there was a moment where he had an exchange with Dr. Wilson (James Degner) and they recreated the murder scene and the inspector laid down and pretended to be Lady Tressilian. He imitated her feminine voice and made like he was pulling a blanket to his chin. The complete change of character was hilarious. It would have been nice if his character was around for the first half of the play. Neville Strange's (Ben Habel) character was also impeccable. He was both intelligent and domineering and made for an excellent shyster. It's unforgettable how he was yanked off stage, screaming and hollering. It was also hard not to laugh when a hard-of-hearing individual in the audience exclaimed, “I know who did it!”

David Coral, photo by Bob Suh

In this play, I was a detective and details were hard to overlook. The first half of the play was spent introducing Lady Tressilian, her ward Neville Strange, along with first and second wives, Kay and Audrey Strange.  I was thankful when the play picked up momentum and changed from day to night. Lanterns were used to illuminate the stage as Audrey Strange sat in an evening dress, her shawl wrapped around her gazing contemplatively. Audrey's looks were reminiscent of Debi Mazar's role in Beethoven's 2nd. Her slicked back hair and razor-sharp eyes made her seem like a clever person capable of orchestrating murder. But is she the murderer?

Come and find out.  Towards Zero Runs thru December 15th tickets at http://www.theatreintheround.org/new-homepage/tickets/zero-reservation/

This show runs approximately 2-3/4 hours, including one intermission.