THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

Fantastic fun for the whole family!

Columbus Square Park, 12th & Wharton Streets, is proud to announce two FREE performances of New York City and Philadelphia-based REV Theatre Company’s production of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS in the Park on Thursday July 30 and Friday July 31 at 6PM.

One of Shakespeare’s earliest and most vibrant comedies, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is a zany, madcap romp of mistaken identities that ends in a heart-warming reconciliation of a family that has been torn apart by a shipwreck. Take two pairs of identical twins, a jealous wife and her love-struck sister, a greedy merchant, a father whose head will be chopped off at sunset, a dimwitted courtesan, a stolen necklace, one angry nun, a greasy kitchen wench and an exorcist, add in Shakespeare’s brilliant, sparkling language and the result is a concoction of delightful lunacy and farcical delirium.

Done in pure REV fashion – including intensely physical staging and musical numbers – THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is a colorful, contemporary take on Shakespeare’s screwball comedy. This production is the perfect introduction to Shakespeare and is guaranteed to appeal to each and every member of the family.

Although guaranteed to be a “funfest” for people of all ages, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS is also rooted in universal human experiences, and has a story and characters that audiences will make a strong emotional connection to, with its themes of family relationships, loss and reconciliation. These elements reach across the centuries to audiences today with a relevance that is as powerful as it was over four hundred years ago.

New York City-based Actors’ Equity member Rudy Caporaso (Co-Artistic Director of REV Theatre Company) will play the roles of Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse. He was seen most recently as Hamlet in REV’s production at the Scranton Cultural Center.

Rosey Hay, (Co- Artistic Director of REV Theatre Company), will direct the production. She has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has directed in New York, Philadelphia and regionally. She has taught and directed at the Juilliard School NYU’s Graduate Acting program, the University of Scranton, and is on the faculty of the University of the Arts and Temple.

Performances will begin at 6pm. The early curtain time has been chosen so that families with children will be able to attend; in addition, performing in daylight will enable us to focus on the interaction between performers and audience — an audience that can be seen and directly communicated with, just as Shakespeare’s actors would have done at the Globe Theatre. We will encourage audiences to bring chairs and blankets to sit on.

What theatre critics say about REV Theatre Company:

“Revving up classical theater with today’s vision.”
— The New York Times

“Superb…”
— The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Brilliant…It is easy to understand why no other company is capable of reinventing Shakespeare like REV…REV Theatre Company offers a Shakespeare for our time, bringing the plays up to date in the 21st century.”
— Stamford Advocate

“Take a look at what really talented theater people can do.”
— Philadelphia CityPaper

“The wonderful REV Theatre Co — the best theater buy of the season…not to be missed.”
—Associated Press/Arts & Leisure