BWW Reviews: Shakespeare Takes to the Streets in THE BOMB-ITTY OF ERRORS

Will the real Dromio please stand up?

There’s no such thing as too much Shakespeare – right? Second Thought Theatre takes a different spin on the Bard’s iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets with their latest show THE BOMB-ITTY OF ERRORS.

Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors takes to the streets with bumping beats mastered by Heath Gage and one of the more amusing performances of the summer from Zac Kelty. But if you want to follow the storyline, it will serve you well to brush up on the original before wandering into Bryant Hall for the 80-minute show.

Written almost 15 years ago by four NYU students, BOMB-ITTY turns the story upside down (and some shirts inside out) with four male actors in all parts.

Second Thought’s production features co-artistic director Steve Walters and Joseph Holt in the roles of the two Antipholus alongside Kelty and company member Drew Wall, as their two manservant Dromio’s. And they rush around the rudimentary stage ramps, changing clothes and mixing-up identities right and left.

Nearly the entire play is set to music Heath Gage re-mixed paying homage to many 90s hip-hop artists including Shaggy, Public Enemy and Run DMC. These beats are run by a visible stage manager, Brittany Noll, who is superfluously placed on stage and dubbed “B-Nasty,” although kept silent the entire play. (“The pleasing punishment that women bear,” perhaps? 1.1.47)

Kelty may be the smartest thing about the show, as he manages to be pleasantly oafish as Dromio and irreverently charming as Luciana, bringing most of the humor to Walters’ number “Lu-ci-ana.” Wall also does a hilarious turn as twin Dromio and the courtesan. Half the show’s fun is guessing which version of Kelty or Wall will run onstage.

The real guessing game here though is why BOMB-ITTY closes Second Thought’s season and where the female characters have been. In a quick count, we only came up with Jenny Ledel in Pluck the Day. As Antipholus of Syracuse says, “Every why hath a wherefore.” It seems BOMB-ITTY OF ERRORS is unmitigated entertainment.

THE BOMB-ITTY OF ERRORS runs through July 22 at Bryant Hall (3636 Turtle Creek Blvd, Dallas). Tickets are available online or by phone 866-811-4111.

Lauren Smart is a freelance journalist based in Dallas. She has covered the arts for magazines and newspapers throughout Texas, New York and South Carolina. She holds a master's in arts journalism from Syracuse University and bachelor degrees in journalism and creative writing from Southern Methodist University. An arts advocate and walking theater encyclopedia, she can usually be found poring over new plays or writing in a local coffee shop.

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