The Comedy of Errors

×

Expand

Jason Compton

Finn Gallagher and Jonathan Rowe in "The Comedy of Errors."

Finn Gallagher and Jonathan Rowe in "The Comedy of Errors," Madison Shakespeare Company, 2025.

Madison Shakespeare Company keeps up its tradition of outdoor midsummer Shakespeare with one of the early comedies, the short and snappy The Comedy of Errors. What you need to know is that there are two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth, and they all end up in the city of Ephesus at the same time. From a body of comedies where mistaken identities are a key plot element, The Comedy of Errors is perhaps the mistaken-est. There’s not much in the way of deep meaning, here, but Shakespeare’s wit and talent for compressing action is on full display. Now that the heat has broken, heading to the outdoor amphitheater at Madison Country Day School (bring a chair and/or a blanket, and probably some bug spray) to see some outdoor Shakespeare should be a pleasure. Shows are Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday at 5 p.m. (note corrected times).

media release: The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare’s template for generations of high-energy stage farces, makes its first Madison Shakespeare Company appearance July 18-27 at the Madison Country Day School amphitheater. A father searches for his long-lost boys. A wife frets about her wayward husband. And absolutely everyone is confused as a pair of identical twins cross paths without ever meeting until the hilarious conclusion. Directed by John Hendel, recently seen in MSC’s acclaimed presentation of Henry the Fifth.