The Comedy of Errors at Colonus: Uauthorized by William Shakespeare and Sophocles, adapted and directed by David Minton on December 3, 2016, at 7 PM, performed by the blue cast.
I wonder if there’s such a thing as “Play-dar”? The ability to predict the outcome of a Play. You know – an innate sense that a production you are about to witness (as the inside front cover of the Playbill cautions) “… is a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors.” If so, if Playdar exists, either mine is broken or I do not have it. I tried to validate my trepidation several times and failed!
I witnessed near perfect iambic pentameter, that maddeningly complex form of communication, at which Shakespeare was a master. The story line is relatively straightforward (for Shakespere): two sets of twins, separated at birth, wander the city of Colonus unknowingly wreaking comic havoc as their identities are mistaken by everyone including Oedipus Rex who is busy defeating a Sphinx and justifying his behavior to family & friends.
But what Minton accomplished with 40 young actors (of the Blue Cast) was pure wizardry. The minimalistic set designed by Jim Porter provided elements of Laugh-In style comedy. Wendy Eck and Dianne Dumais produced wacky and appropriate costumes including several unimaginably quick-changes. Liz Porter’s make-up design perfectly allowed the comedy to shine through. Ron Murphy’s sound, Jeff Struewing’s props and the lighting design by Dylan Uremovic added to the outstanding choreography of Sylvie Weissman and Grace Serber-Whyte. The Goat Dance and Time Warp deserve particular kudos. I had to keep reminding myself I was watching actors who were still in middle and high school! The entire production showed the results of pure hard work and rehearsal. Congratulations one and all and thank you!
I cannot emphasize enough how pleased I was by everyone on and behind the stage. Naming over 40 individual stand-out performances would be impossible.But several players delivered a level of craft which I feel deserve mention. The facial expressions Maya Griffith performed as Amazonia carried or stole the scene at almost every appearance. Lily Creekmore’s Oedipus was ridiculously self-confident in a classically tragic sense. The Creon trio was hilarious played by Iris KouKoui, Isabel Ryan Silva, and Bridget Griffith. And I thoroughly enjoyed the synchronized herd of sheep otherwise known as the Chorus of Theban Elders including Paula Stewart-Aday, Rebecca Guilfoyle, Betty Shanefelter, Lily Bendavid, Neo Bayiha, Lila Shaw, Erika Rodriquez, and Anjali Shah.
I cannot say enough. Should you set aside your reservations and see this show it would not be an Error!
Running Time: Two hours plus a twenty minute intermission.
The Comedy of Errors . . . at Colonus plays through December 10, 2016, at Lumina Studio Theatre performing at The Silver Spring Black Box Theater – 8641 Colesville Road, in Silver Spring, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 565-2281, or purchase them online for the Green and Blue casts.
LINKS:
Review: ‘The Comedy of Errors…at Colonus’ at Lumina Studio Theatre (Blue Cast) by Mark Ludder.
Review # 2: ‘The Comedy of Errors . . . at Colonus’ at Lumina Studio Theatre (Green Cast) by Leslie Weisman.
RATING: 
Lumina strikes again with another terrific production! Kudos to the director David Minton and the actors, especially Maya and Bridget Griffith!