Musical (1999)
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A prologue sets up the story: MC Egeon, a legendary MC in his time, and his wife Betty are blessed with quadruplets - two sets of identical twins. The bigger pair are both named Antipholus and the smaller pair both named Dromio. Economic misfortune befalls the family and MC Egeon and Betty are forced to give up the kids for adoption. The twins are split up - one Antipholus and one Dromio grow up in the town of Ephesus and the other Antipholus and Dromio are raised in the town of Syracuse, unaware of the existence of their identical twins. "They grew up livin' in a world of hip-hop / Surrounded by the 1-2-3 and you don't stop".
As the play begins we see Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse, now in their mid twenties, arrive in the city of Ephesus (where their twins live). These Syracusian twins are vagabonds, bouncing from one city to another, poor yet happy. However, their brothers, Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus, are wealthy and well known in the city, yet Antipholus of Ephesus is wrapped up in a dysfunctional marriage with his wife, Adriana. Immediately confusions abound as Antipholus of Syracuse sends Dromio of Syracuse on an errand and seconds later Dromio of Ephesus appears begging Antipholus, who he mistakes for his Ephesian counterpart, to come home for lunch. Still with us?
Meanwhile, Adriana laments to her sister, Luciana, that her husband, Antipholus of Ephesus, is so cold to her. The sisters go out to find him and give him a piece of their mind but instead run into Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse who are dumbfounded yet intrigued at these ladies who appear to not only know them but also think Antipholus is married to one of them. They are invited back to the mansion to have lunch where Antipholus of Syracuse falls madly in love with Luciana, his "wife's" sister. Meanwhile, Antipholus of Ephesus comes home for lunch and is locked out of his own home. Enraged, he vows to take revenge against his wife.
As the confusion and hilarity escalates, more and more characters are brought into the mix including MC Hendelberg (a Hasidic rapper), a wacky cop, a Rastafarian herbal doctor, a Californian bike messenger, and a Sports Nun, all thrown into the tumultuous tides of mistaken identity, betrayal, and love. Irreverent and witty with a hot soundtrack of original beats, Shakespeare's never sounded so fresh!"