Shakespeare tweaked

A sign of a great stage musical is when the lights go up and it's intermission and the audience is still laughing, having lost all track of the time.

That's what happened Thursday when David Bell's new adaptation of the classic Richard Rodgers ("The King & I," "South Pacific," "The Sound of Music") and Laurence Hart hit "The Boys from Syracuse" had its Chicago press opening, greeted by laughter, applause and standing ovations, all well deserved.

In fact, Drury Lane's producers Kyle and Drew DeSantis and artistic director William Osetek deserve their own standing ovations for selecting such a production that carries the gift of humor, allowing audiences to be lost for two hours of amusement.

This is a musical that pulls out all stops, taking the audience along for a ride that's entertaining every step of the way.

The show runs through Sept. 28 at Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.

Premiering in 1938 and based on William Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors," the aptly named "The Boys From Syracuse" was the first musical written based on the Shakespeare play. Drury Lane's production features a talented cast of 30 and a band of 10, starring Rod Thomas as Antipholus of Ephesus and Ryan Reilly as Antipholus of Syracuse.

"The Boys from Syracuse" revolves around the escapades and romantic mix-ups of long-separated identical twins, both named Antipholus, whose servants, the two Dromios, also are long-separated identical twins. Complications arise when the wives of the Ephesians, Adriana and her servant Luce, mistake the two strangers for their husbands. The ironic tale of these separated brothers is a hilarious take on the classic Shakespearean story.

This runaway Broadway hit combines Rodgers' rich melodies and Hart's witty lyrics in the classic score, which includes "Falling in Love with Love," "Sing for Your Supper" and "This Can't be Love."

After brief runs at the Schubert Theatres in New Haven and Boston, "The Boys from Syracuse" opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on Nov. 23, 1938. It ran on Broadway for nearly 11 months (235 performances) before closing on Oct. 6, 1939. The production has returned to New York twice since. It ran for more than 500 performances in 1963 off-Broadway at Theatre Four and again on Broadway in 2002 at the American Airlines Theater.

Thomas is a master of comic timing in his role and faces every madcap scene with boundless energy and facial expressions, with even just the latter worth the price of admission. He also has a rich and resonating voice that completes the stage qualities worth their weight in gold.

Adding to his limitless abilities are the terrific stage exchanges with Devin DeSantis, who plays one of the Dromios. DeSantis has some of the best stage reactions to situations I've ever seen, along with quick, crisp delivery of funny lines that hit the mark ever time.

This show also has two larger-than-life talents whose theater crafts span every sense of stage know-how with a magic that can envelope an audience the moment they step from behind the curtain. Melody Betts, who plays the long-suffering cook, is a comedic wiz with the voice of an angel, only matched by Borry Lyles, a chanteuse without limits. These two gals deserve their own separate spotlights marked "hers" and "hers."

This production also stars Anne Acker, Gary Carlson, Jarret Ditch, Jackson Evans, Michael Glazer, Mallory Green, Kent Haina, Sean Michael Hunt, George Keating, Andrew Keltz, Dorrey Lyles, Susan Moniz, Kelli Morgan, Max Quinlan, Cara Salerno, Laura Scheinbaum, Katie Spellman, Joey Stone, Peter Terry, Emily Thompson, Tiffany Topol, Sean Walton and Bernie Yvon.

A word of advice: Don't be late after intermission, because the opening number "Ladies of the Evening," which starts the second act is beyond funny and clever. How so many talented personalities happened to be gathered under one marquee for this production is amazing.

The artistic team for "The Boys from Syracuse" is led by director and choreographer Bell with musical direction by Keith Dworkin. The fantasy "from another world" set design is by Sally Weiss, with the beautiful costume design is by Tatjana Radisic, more than capable lighting design is by Jesse Klug and the "no stone unturned" properties design is by Gregory Isaacs.

Tickets, including dinner packages, are $28 to $55. For reservations, call (630) 530-0111or www.drurylaneoakbrook.com.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.

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