Drury Lane's jazzy update of 'The Boys from Syracuse' is a hit

Audiences laughing their heads off at Drury Lane Oak Brook's knockout production of "The Boys from Syracuse" really won't care how much tinkering has been done to the show's original script.

And that's a huge credit to director/choreographer/adapter David H. Bell, whose skilled handprints are all over in reshaping and resuscitating this rarely seen 1938 Broadway musical comedy hit.

After directing a few "Boys from Syracuse" productions in Atlanta and at Northwestern University, Bell revamps George Abbott's original "Boys from Syracuse" script (which itself is based upon Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors") and updates it to when the musical originally premiered on Broadway. Bell also repositions or jettisons a few of the show's weaker songs and interpolates others from the 1940 "Boys from Syracuse" film version and the musical "By Jupiter" (also by the same songwriting team of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart).

Some may be initially dubious of the changes or the sight of everyone chasing each other around in period suits and floral-print dresses instead of classical togas (there also are a few uncomfortable instances when Antipholus refers to his servant as "slave," even though we're in the 20th century).

But the updating makes perfect aural sense since Rodgers and Hart's score is filled with numbers influenced by the swing era (musical director Keith Dworkin's jazzy rearrangements for other numbers are also top notch).

The overall result is a heavenly comic confection of bawdy slapstick humor and glorious song standards from Broadway's heyday. It's also wonderful to hear such classics like "Falling in Love with Love," "Sing for Your Supper" and "This Can't be Love" performed with such verve and passion.

The plot is the stuff of classic situation comedy. When Antipholus and his servant, Dromio, travel from Syracuse to the town of Ephesus, everyone there mistakes them for long-lost twins who also happen to have the exact same names (even the Ephesus wives of Antipholus and Dromio can't make the distinction).

Bell's staging is filled with romantic and hilarious flourishes that alternately has the audience sighing with awe or roaring with laughter. The passionate choreography for the pas de deux dancers Jarret Ditch and Cara Salerno oozes sexuality and longing, while a zany chase and brilliantly staged slow-motion fight between Antipholus of Ephesus and a cadre of fez-wearing Keystone Cop-like policemen leaves everyone in stitches.

If there are quibbles to be had with Drury Lane's "Boys from Syracuse," they're minor. Bell occasionally drags out the dance numbers or comic gags so that they become too much of a good thing.

Bell's refashioning of the song "Big Brother" from a Dromio solo to a twin quartet is questionable dramatically, since it's unclear if the Ephesus brothers know about the existence of their Syracuse brethren.

And though the colorblind casting of Melody Betts as the kitchen maid Luce and Dorrey Lyles as The Courtesan give the show an extra kick of powerhouse vocals and unflappable comic timing, the characters they play edge precariously close to stereotyped caricatures of angrily sassy or oversexed African-American women.

But maybe that's me applying too much political correctness to what is essentially a knockabout musical farce of mixed-up identities and infidelities.

Other comic standouts include the Dromios of Andrew Keltz (Syracuse) and Devin Desantis (Ephesus), the latter of whom literally gets tossed around in the hilarious "locked-out" sequence near the end of Act I.

The Antipholuses of Rod Thomas (Ephesus) and Ryan Reilly (Syracuse) both make dashing and comical leading men, make it quite easy to see why the Ephesus women, wife Adrianna (Susan Moniz, who sings with a great mix of legit soprano and belting) and sister Luciana (the very appealing Tiffany Topol) would fall for both of them.

With its handsome production values and high-energy ensemble, "The Boys from Syracuse" shows that Drury Lane is on an artistic upswing. Thank heaven for Bell and Drury Lane for shining a new spotlight on this semi-obscure classic musical.

It's a triumphant laugh riot.

"The Boys from Syracuse"

3½ stars (out of 4)

Location: Drury Lane Oak Brook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace

Times: 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 1:30 and 8 p.m. Thursdays, 8:30 p.m. Fridays, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 6 p.m. Sundays; through Sept. 28

Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with intermission

Tickets: $28-$33 (dinner packages available)

Box office: (630) 530-0111 or drurylaneoakbrook.com

Rating: Racy humor that includes adultery and the existence of courtesans

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=1&type=video&item=194">Clip from Drury Lane's 'Boys from Syracuse' </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>