The Comedy of Errors - Shakespeare in the Park

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 5/27/13 at 10:07pm

Surprised that there isn't a thread yet for this considering previews start tomorrow.

Anyone going tomorrow? I was originally planning on it but given the weather I may wait. Hopefully the first performance isn't rained out! I'm thinking tickets won't be too hard to get for this one, but we'll see.

We can make this the official "line status" thread as well.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 9:25am

Bump.

Anyone there? How's the line?

[aaronb]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 4:55pm

I'm getting in line tonight, rain permitting.

[winston89]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 4:58pm

The article on Broadwayworld said that they are limiting tickets for each production. Two tickets each and you can only go to two performances max. I wonder, with so many people in line, what system would they be using in order to keep track of someone going over the limit?

[Kad]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 5:10pm

Collecting your name and entering into a ticketing system when issuing you a ticket seems most likely. And the staff in the box office certainly will remember frequent guests (and they do).

They've been trying desperately to curb scalping, which has become a massive problem.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 5:15pm

The Public posted on Facebook like 30 mins ago that tickets were still available. I'm guessing with the rain, being the first preview and not a well-known work the line was pretty minimal today.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 6:37pm

I won virtual lotto today, but I didn't get my email until almost an hour after I thought they would tell me, and I made other plans. (Quite honestly, I don't know if I had it in me to sit out in the rain for a maybe on the rain anyway.)

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 5/28/13 at 6:50pm

I was able to get a ticket 15 minutes ago. We'll see what happens.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 12:32am

Great to hear, I can't wait to read your full thoughts later!

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 7:49am

What was the running time?

[AC126748]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 7:51am

It's 90 minutes, intermissionless.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 7:57am

Oh, just beautiful. Thank you, AC.

(I'm choosing between this and VANYA Sunday night; it's a time issue.)

[AC126748]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 10:20am

I haven't seen it yet but someone on ATC who went last night said it was true to the posted running time, which is 90 minutes. I might try for tickets some time this week as it should be pretty easy

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 10:25am

How much music, if any, was in this production?

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 10:28am

There's quite a bit actually. There are pre-performance dance sequences and then an opening dance number with big band music/swing music. Each scene change also features more music and dancing.

[aaronb]

Posted: 5/29/13 at 6:29pm

Tickets were sold out by 2pm today.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 12:00am

I saw it tonight and found it to be completely joyous. Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays both Dromio roles and Hamish Linklater got to be both Antipholus roles. They were both wonderful and had me laughing and laughing. The scene where Dromio has to describe his wife Nell at Adriana's house was hysterical!!

Emily Bergl nailed it as Adriana, and Heidi Schreck was fun as Luciana too.

Loved the sets. Loved the costumes. Loved the dancing. Loved the music. The time raced by. Everyone should make the effort to see this.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 12:07am

Whizzer - did you get your tickets on the line, lottery, or sponsor seats?

I'm wondering because the supposed "two performance" limit that has been instituted makes me curious how it's being enforced. On the online lottery, it seems quite simple and practical to limit people to winning twice since it's all computerized and you have to input your name and address. It seems fair to limit that to maximize the number of people who can see the show.

However, for tickets purchased on the line, how could they possibly enforce this policy? Are they actually taking down the names and addresses of all 1000 or so people who get tickets and then inputting them in a database and cross-referencing them with photo IDs? That would take hours to distribute tickets.

My hunch is the policy only applies to the online lottery but am waiting for confirmation from someone who knows.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 12:09am

Also, more importantly, for those very familiar with the script, how much cutting was done and how did it work?

I have only seen the show professionally staged once and it ran over 2 hours so there had to have been some pretty significant cuts I assume.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 12:12am

Sorry I can't help you broadwaydevil- My friend won them through the virtual lotto!

tobias, I agree with you about Adriana's big monologue. Damn, it was SO good. The physicality she brought to the role added so much too.

No way was this a second preview in front of an audience. The timing and pacing were already perfection. Daniel Sullivan scores big again in the park.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 7:30am

A very rough standard in Shakespeare is 1,000-1,2000 lines per hour, which is a pretty quick clip to average. But THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is a quick-moving play and also the shortest by nearly 400 lines (1,786 in all).

At those rates, the play would clock in at between 89 and 107 minutes.

[After Eight]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 8:38am

I confess to having mixed feelings about it. The direction was smooth, deft, and polished. The set was very nice. Hamish Linklater has really come into his own as a comic actor. He is delightful and charmng here. Emily Bergl and Heidi Schreck were also excellent.

The same actors playing both twin brothers muddied the waters a bit, and there were some dead spots along the way. I found the dancing added little.

Overall, though, I'd say it was nicely done.

[Jockamo2]

Posted: 5/30/13 at 5:32pm

Saw it yesterday and thought it was incredible. The two leads really pulled off an amazing feat. I wholly recommend it. I waited for about 3 hrs in the standby line, well worth it, especially if you have stuff to memorize.

An especially amazing moment was with Hamish Linklater at the end when everyone's on stage. He is asked about a wad of money that he was given earlier in the show. At this moment, he says, "YOU MEAN THE $500 DOLLARS YOU GAVE ME THAT I LEFT OFF STAGE? YES! OF COURSE I HAVE IT!" Then he proceeds to improv as he makes his way off stage right to find the prop that he had apparently forgot. The audience was howling with laughter, then he realizes he left it off stage left and he crosses in the entire stage to get it. It was an amazingly great moment that even the other actors found hilarious as they all broke character. If it was staged, it was really convincing. If it wasn't, then I'm very fortunate to see that slight mistake played up in the aesthetic of comedy.

Updated On: 5/30/13 at 05:32 PM

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 5/31/13 at 1:10am

I saw it this evening and thought that it was a wonderful production overall. Setting The Comedy of Errors in Upstate New York isn't incredibly inventive or revolutionary but it seems to work well enough, though no one seems to be sure what sort of New York accent to act with and how much it should be emphasized. The gun toting mobster aura of the mob works well enough with the script and is done largely successfully. Having each twin be played by the same actor is also somewhat common in productions I've seen recently but it usually fails miserably as one of the conceits of The Comedy of Errors is that the audience actually does know what's going on and can distinguish which twin is which and suspends their disbelief that the characters can't. Having the same actor play the twins has killed this and left the play muddled and hard to difficult in a community theater production I saw a few years back. Here, the characterizations are such that I was never truly confused as to which twin was which and the actors pull off the fast changing and constant exiting and entering with tremendous success. It also demands and elicits some very innovative and humorous staging by Daniel Sullivan.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Hamish Linklater are both phenomenal. Ferguson is lovable, funny, and seems like the ideal fit to play Dromio. Linklater took a bit longer to get used to as he played the role a bit more subtly and reserved than I was expecting but ultimately he was incredibly funny and his last monologue at the end was one of the highlights of the production. It's quite evident Ferguson and Linklater have worked together numerous times as they have incredible chemistry.

Emily Bergl is funny and well-cast as Adriana and Robert Creighton stands out of the supporting cast for his role as Angelo.

Perhaps what's most striking though about this production is how well it worked overall and how good Shakespeare in the Park proves to be year in and year out at making the works hold up and appear as new (even if this year's particular concept wasn't as unique as past Delacorte shows have been.) The Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare's funniest plays for modern audiences and this cast certainly delivers in that department.

My only minor gripes were that the lighting and set design weren't quite as beautiful as I've come to expect in the past at the Delacorte. The set is relatively simple and pretty enough but it never used the elements and the natural surroundings and scenery in ways that As You Like It did masterfully. Part of the beauty of being in Central Park is the way the shows often are integrated with the nature around them and here that was missing. Also, the lighting was relatively simple and there were no moments that I was completely in awe of the beauty of wonderful theatrical lighting like Natasha Katz managed successfully last year (the image of the deep blue lights bathing the fire in the forest is still in my head.)

Almost forgot to mention, the music and choreography is lovely and only adds to and never detracts from the show. It gives it a certain liveliness and was very well executed.

The show is in tremendous shape for a third preview performance and I hope to return back to this production. It's classic Shakespeare in the Park done well: a wonderful cast, a beautiful theater on a warm summer night, and the timeless words of the Bard.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 5/31/13 at 1:19am

Line status update:

I won the lottery (woohoo) but I do know the show sold out from the line and tickets were unavailable after initial distribution ended. I believe everyone from standby ended up getting in (the woman in front of me said she got on line for standby at 8 and got a ticket so I'm assuming just about everyone got in.)