Review: Showtunes' BOYS FROM SYRACUSE Confused About Twins but Not About Fun

I was speaking with a friend the other day about the current show from Showtunes Theatre Company, "The Boys from Syracuse". He's a somewhat new, fledgling musical theater geek and I said, that it was filled with great Rodgers and Hart songs many of which are standards now. I went through a few and got nothing but blank stares. And that, Dear Readers, is why Showtunes is so important. We need someone to keep bringing us these underdone, and often times older shows such as "The Boys from Syracuse" so established geeks like me can sit there and ... well ... geek out, and for a place for newbies to come and be exposed to these grand old shows so they might actually learn what a "standard" is.

For any of you newbies reading, let me explain this one. It's Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart with a book by George Abbot taking on Shakespeare as they tackle "The Comedy of Errors". So, you've got two sets of twins who were separated from their siblings in a shipwreck as children. One pairing played by Brandon O'Neill with Gabriel Corey as his servant end up in Ephesus with wives and lives. The other pair played by Saxton Jay Walker with Patrick Shelton as his servant end up in Syracuse but spend their lives as merchants searching the lands for their long-lost Father and master. Oh, and did I mention the masters are both named Antipholus and the servants are both named Dromio? So of course, when Antipholus and Dromio from Syracuse come to Ephesus (where people from Syracuse are routinely executed I may add) there's much chaos and confusion as to which Antipholus and Dromio people are talking to. And the hijinks and comedy of errors begins.

Now let's talk about "standards". Back in the olden days when people wrote letters to each other and the internet was nothing more than a mesh placed inside a bathtub drain to catch hair, when musicals hit Broadway, many of the tunes would become hits played on the radio (back when people still listened to the radio). Songs such as "This Can't Be Love" or "Falling in Love with Love" or "Sing for Your Supper" from "The Boys from Syracuse" would be popular all over the country, covered by all the famous artists of the day and not simply beloved by theater nerds. Those songs would eventually come to be known as "standards". And now those "standards" have been dusted off by Showtunes and presented in their usual one weekend only, concert style staging, with performers with music books and scripts in hand. But not to worry, when directed by the likes of Steve Tomkins, as this is, it barely feels like a concert staging. We even get some gloriously fun and sultry choreography from Katy Tabb.

And when sold by the talent they always get, it's gold. O'Neill and Walker as twins look nothing alike but who cares. Both have powerhouse voices and dynamic characters. O'Neill as he swaggers about trying to find anything in a skirt and Walker as he falls for the lovely Mallory King who plays Luciana the sister of O'Neill's Antipholus' wife. (You see the problem there.) their "This Can't Be Love" duet was gorgeous. As Antipholus Ephesus' wife we have the incredible Billie Wildrick as Adriana killing it as always with "Falling in Love with Love" and generally commanding the stage. Jasmine Jean Sim has a smaller part as the head of the courtesans but that doesn't mean she sells her numbers any less. I always remember what a vibrant actress she is but always forget what killer pipes she has. Corey and Shelton are hilarious as the beleaguered twin Dromios especially when chased around the stage by the hysterical Christine Riippi as Dromio Ephesus' wife Luce. surrounded by a glorious ensemble who are anything but "just the chorus".

Showtunes has once again nailed a classic and I can't wait for the next one so I can geek out some more. And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give Showtunes Theatre Company's production of "The Boys from Syracuse" a "standard" YAY. Keep it going Showtunes or else one day people may refer to those classic standards from "Rent".

"The Boys from Syracuse" performed at Benaroya Hall March 23-25. This show may already be over but for information on future shows visit them online at www.showtunestheatre.org.

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