by Kristen Nevarez Schweizer
August 20, 2025
If the sitcom Friends and William Shakespeare had a baby, and that child was raised on Surge, slap bracelets, and mistaken identity, you’d get this show.
The Old Globe’s Shakespeare under the stars is my non-negotiable summer ritual. It’s a beloved tradition that everyone should experience at least once. If the thought of Shakespeare makes you hesitant, this year’s The Comedy of Errors (directed by James Vásquez) is the most accessible, laugh-out-loud (and throwback) entry yet.
Written early in Shakespeare’s career, The Comedy of Errors is one of his shortest and silliest plays—a romp of mistaken identities, slapstick hi-jinks, and double-twin confusion that audiences have laughed at for over 400 years. The Globe trims it even further to a lean one hour and 18 minutes, with no intermission. That’s a feature-length sitcom binge, making it accessible for first-timers and I’m-not-big-on-Shakespeare thespians.
Director and designers lean hard into the nostalgia of the 1990s, and the result is rad. Neon splashes light up the set like a Nickelodeon game show. The costumes and dropped slang call back to a time of pagers, cassette tapes, and “as if!” exclamations. When characters drop lines that wouldn’t be out of place on Saved by the Bell, the crowd howls. For elder millennials and Gen Xers (who might just now be reaching that golden stage where the kids can stay home with a babysitter!) it feels like a perfectly aimed invitation back to their own coming-of-age.
The blend of Elizabethan text and 90s throwback culture shouldn’t work, like-totally does. It’s like Shakespeare went to the mall, tried on some JNCO jeans, and decided “to thine own self be fly.”
The cast brims with talent because, like duh, it’s The Old Globe. Broadway’s Will Blum, in particular, is a knockout as Dromio of Syracuse. His comic timing, rubber-band physicality, and quicksilver delivery land laugh after laugh. He grounds the chaos with genuine charm, making his scenes hilarious and oddly heartfelt.
As is tradition, the Globe’s partnership with the University of San Diego MFA program infuses the stage with fresh passion. Danny Adams deserves a special shout-out for his role as Angelo; he commits so fully to every beat that the audience can’t help but be pulled along. His performance is a reminder that the joy of Shakespeare isn’t just in the poetry, but in the play.
The Comedy of Errors has always been about confusion, mix-ups, and finding joy in the mess. After last year’s incredible and heavy Henry 6, it feels right to gather under the night sky, laugh at misunderstandings, and let slang-silliness remind us that classic theater doesn’t always have to be serious. Sometimes, it just has to be fun.
Also, San Diegans can plan to say farewell to Tim Shields! After a forty-seven-year career in nonprofit theater, The Old Globe’s managing director Timothy J. Shields announced he will retire in 2026. A national search for his successor will be launched. Fingers crossed it’s someone totally cool.
The Old Globe Theatre
July 27 through Sunday, August 24, 2025
Lowell Davies Festival Theatre (outdoors, bring a jacket!)
Length: 1 hour 18 minutes, no intermission
