The Comedy of Errors by Propeller, and:A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Propeller (review)

How well can you trust your senses? This question was at the forefront of Propeller’s most recent tour, which featured revival productions of The Comedy of Errors and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Both productions highlighted themes of perception, but, despite being linked by thematic content, were strikingly different in atmosphere and tone. The Comedy of Errors was a Shakespearean ‘80s cartoon with whip-smart humor, its characters all seemingly suffering from an excess of sun and margaritas as they mistook one another on the streets of a garish resort town. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, meanwhile, struck a beautiful balance between magical threat and earthy belly-laughs, in a simple staging that concentrated on the actors. This latter production used clever tricks to mislead the eye, as if the audience had also been drugged by an impish Puck. These two productions were presented primarily as entertainments. Rather than exploring the plays’ complexities to a specific purpose, each production was structured around individual moments, skipping from beat to beat with alacrity. Though this approach may have resulted in the productions lacking some of the depth of Propeller’s past work, it drew on the acting company’s strength and energy to great benefit. The ensemble was in rare form, and seemed more comfortable taking ownership of the material than has sometimes been the case in past Propeller revivals.

The sense that audiences had stumbled into another world—subscribers to a pre-packaged holiday or pleasantly drugged dreamers wandering through an Athenian wood—was due in part to the productions’ all-encompassing atmospheres. As with many Propeller productions, The Comedy of Errors began long before the first words of Shakespeare’s text were spoken. Propeller’s characteristic choral presence here took the form of lads nursing hangovers in large sombreros, aviator sunglasses, and football shirts, who lounged about the stage playing instruments, chatted with patrons settling into their seats, and encouraged those in the circle to participate in the Wave. This blurring of the actor/audience divide continued into the interval, involving the audience so as to form a sense of community. In what has become a Propeller tradition, the acting company gave a musical performance in the theater’s foyer, raising money for charity as they played an ‘80s medley. As people began taking their seats for the second half, they witnessed a passionate marriage proposal from the Officer (Richard Pepper) to a lucky woman sitting in the second row. Besides being marvelous fun, such invitations for participation are what make Propeller productions seem like celebrations, as they bring everyone in the theater together to create the overall theatrical event.

This sense of fun was strongly related to the bright, cartoonesque production design of Comedy. Michael Pavelka’s set consisted of brightly graffitied metal sheeting, similar to that found shuttering corner shops after closing time. The playing space had the aspect of a run...