Delightful Escapist Entertainment

Photo by Len Villano.

Shakespeare’s set of identical twin brothers with their identical twin servants in A Comedy of Errors, and the bard’s pair of identical twin brother and sister in Twelfth Night have set a tone for the comedic potential of mistaken identities.

The convention persists to the present, including American Folklore Theatre’s newest show, Strings Attached. Collaborators Dave Hudson and Colin Welford have created a musical comedy that involves twins separated during childhood, one becoming a ukulele enthusiast in Hawaii and the other, a part of a family banjo business in Wisconsin.

In prior action, parents and their young sons experienced a vacation tragedy, the ship sinking, the mother and one boy lost at sea. Fast forward to the present when Bob, president of a banjo manufacturing business in Wisconsin, and his remaining son, now an adult, plan a merger with a ukulele business located in Hawaii. Both interested parties meet in a rustic resort located in northern Wisconsin to negotiate a contract.

Photo by Len Villano.

Strings Attached is a classic farce that expects the audience to check in their disbelief at the door and sit back to enjoy the fast moving plot with larger than life characters. In short, the show is perfect for the venue, an outdoor theater with stars peeking between the tops of tall trees and gentle breezes perfumed with mosquito repellent.

The stylized basic set structure that serves as home to every production in the park works especially well for The Next to the Last Resort setting of the play. The Peninsula Park ambiance could well be the location of an up-north resort. The obligatory rapid entrances and exits of a mistaken-identity farce are easily accommodated.

As an ensemble, the cast is strong, all of the actors creating well-defined characters that offer seamless interplay for the romps, especially during the mistaken-identity confusion that results in the romantic lives of the twins.

One of the earmarks of successful original music in a production is a tune that the audience hums on the way out of the theater, and such is the case with the lullaby “My Boy” that Bob had sung to his twins when they were wee lads. All of the singers in the show have strong voices well suited to musical comedy, the ability both to belt out a tune and to croon a love song.

Photo by Len Villano.

And another mark of a successful farce is a resolution that is not only satisfying from an intellectual perspective, but manages to engage emotions as well. The final reuniting scene is predictable (this is a farce, folks!), but still tugs at heartstrings.

A number of highlights appeared in the show. One was the vaudevillian portrayal of Frank, the owner of the resort, by Doug Mancheski. His was a high-energy imaginative performance that successfully pushed the envelope. His antics and especially his mugging delighted the audience.

But the most delightful aspect of the show was the casting of the twins. In productions of A Comedy of Errors or Twelfth Night, the twins generally have identical clothing that serves as markers for their twin-ship, but physically – no resemblance! Not so with Strings Attached. The two Hals (incidentally, A Comedy of Errors has two Antipholuses), actually look like identical twins, similar builds, facial features, and hair styles. The “twin” actors Chase Stoeger and Chad Luberger share body language that adds to the illusion. And as a stylistic nod to the twin convention, the Hals wear identical outfits.

Co-founder and artistic advisor Doc Heide, a staple with AFT and now a fatherly figure with the company, is a familiar face with longtime fans as he appears as Bob, father of the twins.

Photo by Len Villano.

Some playgoers will recognize echoes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as “the course of true love never did run smooth” – until the resolution!

As a bit of delightful escapist entertainment, the only strings attached to this performance of Strings Attached are on the ukuleles and banjos.

American Folklore Theatre performs in their Peninsula Park amphitheater from July 11 through August 23. Strings Attached is presented on Mondays and Fridays at 8 pm, Wednesdays at 8:30 pm. Guys on Ice is reprised Tuesdays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 6 pm; Packer Fans from Outer Space, Tuesdays at 8 pm, Wednesdays at 6 pm, and Saturdays at 8:30 pm. For information and to purchase tickets call 920.854.6117 or visit folkloretheater.com.