Actors shake up the Bard at Orange Coast College

Tom Titus

You may think you’ve seen Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors”

condensed to 45 minutes and “Hamlet” to 15 at Orange Coast College in

the past, but you probably haven’t seen them lately.

These two blasts from the Bard share a double bill at OCC under

the umbrella title of “Supersonic Shakespeare,” and what they may

lack in depth they compensate for in hilarity. Director Alex Golson

has added a few fresh touches to each in this theatrical exercise

calculated to test both the actors’ talent and stamina.

In Cecil Pickett’s adaptation of “Comedy,” for instance, there’s

the traditional twin masters and twin servants encountering all sorts

of mistaken-identity problems. But this time around, the Duke of

Ephesus is “the Duke” himself -- you know, the one they named the

airport after.

Billy Klein does the local legend to a T, even drawing a “You

rocked in ‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ ” from one of the other actors, just in

case someone in the audience misses the gag.

Sean Heketh and Robert Oldfield score as the befuddled dual

Antipholuses, while Travis Woods and Derek Wiley are uproarious as

the twin Dromios. They’re supported by a large and enthusiastic cast,

including Angela Lopez and Angel Correa, who play the local medics as

spooky witch doctors.

“Sir” Frank Miyashiro, boom box in hand, acts as master of

ceremonies for the twin stabs at Shakespeare’s heart, and also

doubles as a referee in the “Comedy of Errors” sendup.

After intermission, we get the Bard’s masterwork, “Hamlet,” in a

hilariously downsized version by playwright Tom Stoppard, who also

skewered this play in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” This

latter tidbit of information is also alluded to in the program’s cast

list.

Sean Gray enacts the Prince of Denmark as if on amphetamines,

tossing off some of the theater’s best-remembered lines and

scattering them to the winds. His father’s ghost (the director’s

young son, Hal) appears as the Halloween variety spook, speaking

through a sheet and a megaphone.

Angel Correa thoroughly revels in his role as the murderous and

lecherous King Claudius, while Chanel Panagiotopoulos is a splendidly

seductive queen. Emily Rued is particularly watchable as the demented

Ophelia (her “drowning” in the two-minute encore is a real hoot).

The college, which has done both these plays in their full-length

format in the past, traditionally uses the abbreviated comical

versions as exercises for advanced acting students -- of which there

are plenty in “Supersonic Shakespeare.” If you like your Bard shaken

and stirred, Orange Coast College has just the ticket.

CALLBOARD -- Costa Mesa’s Trilogy Playhouse will hold auditions

for its adult ensemble production of the mystery-comedy “Something’s

Afoot” from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Aug. 8 at the theater, 2930 Bristol St.

Director Alicia Butler will be casting six men and four women in

the 20 to 50 age range. This satirical murder mystery musical -- a

spoof of the Agatha Christie genre -- strands 10 people in an

isolated English country house during a raging thunderstorm, and all

die by cleverly fiendish devices.

All roles are open. Material from the script may be picked up

after 5:30 p.m. on the day of the audition. Actors should bring a

picture, resumes and a 32-measure song -- and be prepared to read

with a British accent. “Something’s Afoot” will play from Oct. 4-27.

Call (714) 957-3347, Ext. 2, for more information.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His

reviews appear Thursdays and Saturdays.