Cal Shakes Continues 40th Anniversary Season with THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, Now thru 7/20

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 2014 season with Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, directed by Aaron Posner. The Comedy of Errors plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from today, June 25 through July 20.

"Comedy reminds me of the great comic duos of the old vaudeville days, with its classic straight man/funny man, set-'em-up/knock-'em-down style," says director Aaron Posner. "There's a very rough-and-tumble physicality to the piece, and it's also grounded it in a playful and quirky sensibility. I'm delighted to be working with Danny Scheie again, after our outing together on Midsummer in 2009, and I know he and 500 Clown's Adrian Danzig are the perfect pair to take on this aggressively energetic piece."

First performed in 1594, The Comedy of Errors is Shakespeare's shortest, most farcical play. Filled with puns and loads of word play, this story of two sets of twins separated at birth, their accidental encounters, and the havoc created for their friends and families, is filled with many of Shakespeare's favorite tropes: mistaken identity, shipwrecks, stock characters drawn from Roman legends, and the ultimate happy ending as families are reunited.

The company of The Comedy of Errors includes the Bay Area's comic master Danny Scheie, last seen at Cal Shakes in Lady Windermere's Fan, as the twin Dromios, and Adrian Danzig, artistic director of Chicago's 500 Clown, as the twins Antipholus of Ephesus/Antipholus of Syracuse. Others in the cast include Ron Campbell, returning to Cal Shakes after a lengthy stint with Cirque du Soliel, as Egeon/Angelo/Pinch; Patty Gallagher, who appeared in Cal Shakes' all-female version of Twelfth Night earlier this year as Courtesan/Abbess; Nemuna Ceesay, fresh from her performance as Beneatha in Cal Shakes' season opener, A Raisin in the Sun, as Adriana; Tristan Cunningham, last seen in A Winter's Tale, as Luciana; and Liam Vincent, who played the Courtesan in Cal Shakes' 2004 production of Comedy, as Duke/Balthazar.

Aaron Posner (Director) is a freelance director and playwright; his most recent production, The Tempest, which he co-created with Teller of the legendary duo Penn and Teller, is currently playing at American Repertory Theatre to rave reviews after its world premiere run at the Smith Center in Las Vegas. He was the founding Artistic Director of Philadelphia's Arden Theatre Company and is an Associate Artist at the Folger Theatre and the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Aaron has won numerous awards as both a director and playwright including three Barrymore Awards, an Outer Circle Critics Award, the John Gassner Award, and Helen Hayes Awards as director or playwright four of the last ten years. His published and produced plays include My Name Is Asher Lev, The Chosen, Stupid f-ing Bird, Who Am I This Time? (And Other Conundrums of Love), Sometimes a Great Notion, Mark Twain's A Murder, A Mystery & A Marriage (with James Sugg), and many others. Aaron has directed more than 100 productions at major regional theatres across the country including Cal Shakes (A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2009), American Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, The Alliance, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, American Players Theatre, Theatre J, Woolly Mammoth, and many more. Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Aaron is an Eisenhower Fellow, a graduate of Northwestern University, and lives near Washington, D.C.

The creative team for The Comedy of Errors includes set designer Nina Ball, whose designs have been seen throughout the Bay Area, including Cal Shakes' 2011 The Tempest; costume designer Beaver Bauer, creator of the wildly fanciful costumes for A.C.T.'s A Christmas Carol and Teatro Zinzanni, as well as productions at Berkeley Rep, Roundabout Theatre, Northlight Theatre, and TheatreWorks, to name a few; lighting designer David Cuthbert, who designed the rock concert-style lighting for 2011's The Verona Project; sound designer Andre Pluess, whose soundscapes appeared in 2009's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing at Cal Shakes, as well as Arena Stage, A.C.T., Lincoln Center, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Goodman, and OSF; and movement designer Erika Chong Shuch, who appeared as "Ariel" and choreographed Cal Shakes' The Tempest, and will choreograph Midsummer later this season.

Single tickets for The Comedy of Errors range from $20 to $72, with discounts available for seniors, students, military families, persons age 30 and under, and groups. Prices, dates, titles, and artists are subject to change. For information or to charge tickets by phone with VISA, MasterCard, or American Express, call the Cal Shakes Box Office at 510.548.9666. Additional information and online ticketing are available at www.calshakes.org.

California Shakespeare Theater's 2014 season is supported in part by the generosity of California Shakespeare Theater's 2014 season is supported in part by the generosity of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation, The Andrew Mellon Foundation, The Bernard Osher Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation. Presenting corporate partners for Cal Shakes' 40th anniversary season include BART, City National Bank, Lafayette Park Hotel and Spa, Meyer Sound, Peet's Coffee and Tea, and San Francisco magazine; production sponsor for The Comedy of Errors is Chevron.

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