Meet the cast of Sean Graney's Comedy of Errors

Erik Hellman, top, and Alex Goodrich

Following on this morning's tantalizing cast announcement from the Goodman, let's talk about another attention-grabbing fall cast: the remarkably compact ensemble of Sean Graney's The Comedy of Errors at Court Theatre. Inspired perhaps by his outstanding Court production last fall of The Mystery of Irma Vep, Graney's amping up Shakespeare's farciest farce—a mistaken-identity–driven comedy in which Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio arrive in Ephesus, the home of their respective long-lost identical twins of the same name—by distributing the 23 roles among just six quick-changing actors. Vep's Erik Hellman will take on both Antipholuses (Antipholi?), while both Dromios will be played by Alex Goodrich, one of the city's most appealing young comic actors. (At the performance I attended last week of the family musical The Emperor's New Clothes at Chicago Shakes, Goodrich was the clear audience favorite.) The Errors cast is filled out by Court regular Elizabeth Ledo (most recently of The Illusion) and Graney cohorts Kurt Ehrmann, Stacy Stoltz and Steve Wilson. With a typically brief Court run, The Comedy of Errors previews September 16–24, opens September 25 and closes October 17.