Shakespeare Festival Stages 80s Miami Comedy of Mistakes, Tapping into the Lighter Side | Arts

Shakespeare as “Miami Vice?”

That’s the vibe of the current production of “The Comedy of Errors” at the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival, which opens Friday. The bard’s shorter work will be on stage until August 7 at the Lupine Theater in the Dixon Hall annex of Tulane University.

Torey Hayward, who co-directs with Jon Greene, said the cast and crew need to tap into the lighter side of production, not get bogged down in the heaviness of an “important” Shakespearean work.

“Coming out of the pandemic and the year we have just lived through, I think it was really important for all of us to work on the first play that came out to have a lot of fun,” he said. declared.

The humor comes from Shakespeare’s account of two pairs of twins, separated at birth, and the calamities that accompany false identities and double misadventures. Michael Forest and Mack Guillory III play the roles of Antipholus and Matthew Raetz and Reid Williams play the roles of Dromio.

Miami, with its vibrant colors and lifestyle, seemed like a great choice for this one-day show, said Hayward. The color scheme is very South Beach and “the characters are definitely town people. Everyone wants to know their gossip, everyone wants to know them.

“It drives the plot.”

But fear not, staunch supporters of William’s words – the original dialogue will be intact.

But there’s more: With the city’s penchant for donning alternative clothing, a costume contest will be underway, with members of the public encouraged to wear their best ’80s styles. Have your photo taken in front of the show’s banner. , publish it online for a chance to win single or season tickets.

The shows are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and at 1:30 p.m. on August 1 and 7. A special opening night features $ 50 tickets with the gala following the show with some food, a chance to see the new hall and chat with the cast.

General admission is $ 39. For more information on the show and the competition, see neworleansshakespeare.org.

Scary kids

What happens when Wednesday Addams meets a “normal” guy? Well, you’re having a dinner party.

And what will happen next will be the fun activities for the kids at the Jefferson Performing Arts Society Theater! “The Addams Family young @ part” production opens Friday.

The show, which is part of the summer program for young comedians, will run at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Westwego Performing Theater, 177A Sala Ave., Westwego. Tickets start at $ 15. jpas.org.

The next summer program for young people is the Disney show “Newsies, The Broadway Musical”, which runs from July 30 to August 30. 1 at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive, Metairie.

In production

“Jesus Christ Superstar “: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Dixon Hall, Newcomb Circle, Tulane University. The 50th anniversary rock opera Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice tells the story of the last days of Jesus Christ as Christ, Judas and the disciples enter Jerusalem until the crucifixion. Tickets start at $ 35. summerlyric.tulane.edu.

“Sweet Patate Queens the Musical”: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Peak Theater, 757 Robert Boulevard, Slidell. Jill Conner Browne designed the Sweet Potato Queens books and spawned a women’s organization that has flourished in over 6,000 clubs to help women create a sense of their own fabulous – and now it’s a comedy musical. Conner Browne will be at the performances, joined by lyricist Sandra Vaughn and composer Melissa Manchester this weekend. Tickets start at $ 27.50. theatredecoupe.com.