The Boys from Syracuse

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The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart . The book based on William Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors was written by George Abbott , who also produced and directed the show. The choreography was done by George Balanchine .

The piece is considered to be the first musical setting of a Shakespeare work on Broadway . The title is an allusion to the Shubert Brothers , the most powerful theater producers on Broadway, who came from the New York town of Syracuse .

The premiere took place on November 23, 1938 at the Alvin Theater in New York and reached 235 performances. An off-Broadway revival in 1963/64 at the Theater Four brought it to 500 performances. The musical had its premiere in London's West End on November 7, 1963 at the Drury Lane Theater . The German-language premiere, on November 24, 1971 in the Pforzheim Theater, under the title Die Boys von Syrakus , differs from the original. a. the dance numbers deleted. Heiner Bruns provided the German text .

action

Place and time: Ephesus , Ancient Greece Initial
situation: Heroes are identical twin brothers from a Syracuse merchant's house - both called Antipholus - as well as the twins of the same age assigned to them as servants, also identical and with the same name - they are called Dromio.
Her family was separated from one another by a shipwreck in early childhood. Father Aegon returned home with a son and a servant. Mother, twin brother and servant twin remained missing.
Growing up, Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant went in search of the missing. Alone and without news, Aegon set out on the journey a few years later.

On their search, the Syracuse master-servant team lands in Ephesus. There it learns that a stay would be too dangerous due to the hostility between Syracuse and Ephesus and decides to leave.
Because their twin brothers live in the city, the mistakes begin: The two Syracusans end up in the house of Ephesus Antipholus, where the Syracuse Antipholus confesses his love to his sister-in-law, the Syracuse Dromio is followed by the wife of the other Dromio - and both end up having to spend the night with their brothers' wives. In the meantime, the Ephesus Antipholus stands in front of the locked front door, only to spend the night bitterly with courtesans.
An ordered gold chain is received by the Syracuse brother, but the Ephesus brother refuses to pay, whereupon the latter is arrested. When the two Syracusans with the jewelry are spotted, they flee to the temple.
At the final, there is family reunification. Aegon, who was convicted of Syracuse for the city feud, passes the temple on his way to his execution. There he sees his son, albeit the one from Ephesus, who does not know his father and has since fled from prison to ask for justice from the head of the city. The dissolution is carried out by the seer of the temple, who reveals herself as mother and wife, so that the Syracuse Antipholus also dares to come out of the temple.

Well-known music numbers

  •   Falling in love with love
  •   This Can't Be Love
  •   Sing for your supper

filming

The 1940 film adaptation of the same name by A. Edward Sutherland is based on the musical.

literature

Web links