‘Comedy of Errors’ Dares to Be Funny

The nice thing about Shakespeare is he’s so contemporary. The folio of “The Comedy of Errors” unearthed by director John Rando and put on stage at the Old Globe Theatre, for instance, shows that the Bard used the phrase “Yo mama.” He also clearly anticipated the Village People.

Also Groucho and Harpo Marx, the Church Lady, Evander Holyfield’s ear, Homer Simpson, “Star Wars,” Don King and the cute panda from the San Diego Zoo. The references fly by as furiously as the screaming cat that periodically soars through the frantic action. As in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” the source material here is Plautus, the Roman father of farce and slapstick. And, as in “Funny Thing,” there is something for everyone in Rando’s “Comedy.” If the flying cat doesn’t make you laugh, then the nun running in high heels will.

The plot remains essentially unchanged, set in an ancient Turkish port city, allowing Rando to capitalize on funny hats and a fondness for the novelty song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” which he uses over and over (it’s catchy!). A banner over the town proclaims: “Welcome to Ephesus--Turkey’s #1 City.”

Searching for his lost twin brother, Antipholus of Syracuse (Bill Campbell) lands there, dressed vibrantly in Harlequin-like tights topped by a rather large codpiece with tassels. The swaggering Campbell has a deep voice, strapping figure and twinkling eye--it’s as if Howard Keel acts again. He is immediately taken for his twin, Antipholus of Ephesus (Sean Cullen), who happens to be wearing the very same outfit that day. So too is Campbell’s servant Dromio (the flexible Stephen DeRosa) mistaken for Dromio of Ephesus, another lost twin identically dressed. Trouble ensues.

The cast makes hay with slapstick on Ralph Funicello’s set, which makes a few jokes of its own. Featuring an architectural detail from downtown San Diego’s Horton Plaza, the town square is a jumble of houses, and the church is right next to the tavern, which pulses with energy every time somebody mentions its name (the Porpentine). Of the actors, most adept are the master-servant team of Campbell and DeRosa. Playing off Campbell’s big, dumb sweetness, DeRosa fields a large variety of contemporary funny men, including most prominently Groucho and also the generic dying stand-up comic who keeps hitting his mic and saying, “Is this thing on?”

We are meant to feel right at home in Ephesus. When Luciana (the arresting Libby Christophersen) lectures her sister Adriana about the duties of a patient wife, Adriana (Kristine Nielsen) responds by impatiently ordering a double mocha cappuccino latte from the street cart conveniently located in the middle of the town square. Later, a toy plane flies loudly overhead, a familiar sight in the actual seaside town of San Diego.

*

However numerous the liberties Rando takes, he has put on stage a perfect midsummer night’s entertainment, particularly for the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Outdoor theater, with its unexpected changes in noise and light and air, sets up an immediate latitude and expectation that anything can happen. Rando remains true to Shakespeare’s farce structure while he strews in-jokes for the audience in the here and now. He carefully builds a communal mood that culminates when an audience member is brought onstage for an extended added drama that goes farther than anyone expects.

At the end, when Campbell’s Antipholus explains all of the misunderstandings that we’ve been following but the characters haven’t, the entire cast just stares at him and lets out a simultaneous “Duh.” While this joke may be a bit past its prime, it’s still entirely fitting to the situation and the spirit.

Also good is Cullen in the thankless role of the less colorful home-team Antipholus, as is David Prentiss as a straight-faced merchant caught in the mess of identity confusion. In a small part, Derrick Demetrius Parker as a Rastafarian doctor adds an entirely new energy to the mix.

“The Comedy of Errors” dares to be dumb, foolish and irrelevant. But it touches the roots of ancient comedy, entwining them tightly onto the present, up to the very night on which we are lucky enough to occupy the theater seats. As surely as it is a wanton dip in silliness, “The Comedy of Errors” is also a celebration of Plautus, of theater and of comedy tonight.

* “The Comedy of Errors,” Old Globe Theatre, Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts, San Diego, Tue.-Sun., 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 9. $22-$39. (619) 239-2255. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Dan Shor: Solinus/Balthazar

Jonathan McMurtry: Egeon

Sean Cullen: Antipholus of Ephesus

Bill Campbell: Antipholus of Syracuse

Jim Calder: Dromio of Ephesus

Stephen DeRosa: Dromio of Syracuse

Katherine McGrath: Emilia

Kristine Nielsen: Adriana

Libby Christophersen: Luciana

With: David Prentiss, Matthew Troncone, Scott Ferrara, Derrick Demetrius Parker, Andrea Cirie, Henny Russell, Christian Casper, Michelle Cordero, David Mann, Heather Raffo, Jim Wallert.

An Old Globe Theatre production. By William Shakespeare. Directed by John Rando. Sets Ralph Funicello. Costumes Lewis Brown. Lights David Segal. Sound Jeff Ladman. Choreography Bonnie Johnston. Stage manager Raul Moncada.