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Annual summer theater production returns for seventh year
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May 28, 2015
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SUBURBAN
by Stephanie Longo
ABINGTON SUBURBAN EDITOR
Mistaken identities, confused motives, backwards happenings and, yes, a happy ending. No, it is not the latest blockbuster to come to theaters; instead, it is a story more than 420 years old and is coming right to your back yard. Ghostlight Productions’ seventh-annual Shakespeare in the Park performance, “The Comedy of Errors,” will be held from FridaySunday, May 29-31, and June 5-7, at South Abington Park, located off Northern Boulevard. Friday and Saturday evening performances will begin at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday performances will begin at 2:30 p.m. All performances are free and audience members are strongly urged to bring lawnchairs or blankets for seating. Given the success — and highly tragic nature — of last year’s performance of “Macbeth,” the troupe wanted to try its hand at something more lighthearted and, as director Jeremy J. Kemmerer said, “The Comedy of Errors” was the perfect fit. The + revolves around a disastrous sea voyage that separates two sets of twins from their identical halves. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio, arrive at a circus in Ephesus and are immediately recognized by the circus’s clowns, merchants, performers and someone who claims to be Antipholus’s wife but Antipholus and Dromio have never before set foot in Ephesus. The duo, unbeknownst to them, had been thrown into the lives of their twin counterparts and, adding to the confusion, they also share the same names, guaranteeing chaos will ensue. “Antipholus of Syracuse, makes the following statement, ‘We wander here in illusion,’ that statement became one around which this show developed,” Kemmerer said. “In thinking about illusion, my mind was immediately drawn to pictures of carnivals and memories of magic tricks. The characters and audience, in the course of the show, need to feel the tension between illusion and reality. It seemed fitting that our approach to this production was to set it in the Circus of Ephesus. This will hopefully bring a sense of showmanship and delight in a
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The cast of Ghostlight Productions’ seventh-annual Shakespeare in the Park performance “The Comedy of Errors” is pictured during a rehearsal. This year’s production will be held from Friday to Sunday, May 29-31 and June 5-7, at South Abington Park, located off Northern Boulevard. Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday performances begin at 2:30 p.m. From left, front row: EJ Leeson as Officer and Chief Clown, George Conrad as Dromio of Syracuse and Crista Mallecoccio as Clown. Second row: Mark Mallecoccio as Aegeon, Karin Mappes as Luciana, Jonathan Strayer as Antipholus of Syracuse, Brian McGuinness as Antipholus of Ephesus, Rachel Luann Strayer as Adriana and Jennifer Loftus as the Strongman. Third row: Jason Belack as Luce, Abby Mappes as the Merchant, Leba Lanton as a Circus Performer, KK Gordon as the Ringmaster, Laura Micelli as a Circus Performer, Chelsea Lyn Huizing as Angelo and Laura Moore as Madam Pinch. Max Earl also performs as Dromio of Ephesus.
PHOTO JASON BELACK
park setting, just as much as it would in a circus tent.” This year’s cast boasts both Ghostlight veterans as well as newcomers and, as Kemmerer said, the troupe’s productions are the only alllocal performance of Shakespeare’s plays in the area — from cast to crew to setting. “Shakespeare may be the first name that comes to mind when someone thinks of theater or drama,” Kemmerer said. “Outdoor summer theatre and Shakespeare go hand-in-hand. To
be a part of an outdoor production of Shakespeare’s work is and should be a pinnacle experience for an actor or director. People have told us that they have started to look forward to our productions year after year. Being part of something that is becoming or has become a community event is a privilege. The fact that it is a production of Shakespeare is just the bonus at the end of the day.” For more information on Shakespeare in the Park, visit ghostlightproductions.org.