By June April

HARTFORD — By way of introduction to Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors is a great first for young children. It has all the elements of silly slapstick that recall the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers. Deep analysis is not called for, just the sheer joy of watching mistaken identities cause zany problems. Now that the play has been extended at Hartford Stage through May 13, there is a little extra time to come see it.

Combined with the delicious palette of blues and red/oranges of the set and costumes, the Hartford production is an opportunity for entertainment.

Of the approximately 20 cast members, there were several that stood out for their overall excellence. Playing Solinus, the Duke of Ephesus, and Balthazar, a merchant, Nafe Katter turns in one of the best performances of all those he has done at Hartford Stage.

Credit for fine make-up work helps to give credible strong facial likenesses to the two sets of twins. The photographs in the program show a structural similarity in the faces of the two servants, both named Dromio, played by Brian Mysliwy and Brooks Ashmanskas as the twin masters. Christopher Duva is blonde and portrays Antipholus of Syracuse, while his long separated (supposedly identical) twin is played by a brunette, Jeremy Shamos. Hats, beards, make-up and whoosh, now we have (almost) two sets of dead-ringers.

Genevieve Elam is also most outstanding in her role as sister-in-law to Antipholus of Ephesus. Her sister, Adriana, played by Tara Falk, speaks beautifully but rather formidably.

As the frustrated wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, Adriana seems to be constantly having to prove herself to him to keep him close to the home-fold. Her yellow non-descript dress was hardly flattering; nor did it mesh well with the other costumes, except in its color scheme.

The comedic schtick of Wally Dunn, as the conjurer Dr Pinch, was one of the most hilarious in the production.

In fact, director Mark Brokaw really played up every instance where jocularity lay waiting. It worked well, too. The situation in Act 2 (Act 4, Scene 1 in the original play) where Antipholus of Ephesus is wrongly arrested, and he slips in and out of his captor’s binding, truly tickles one’s funny bone.

Though elegant and a fine thespian, there is something of a shock to seeing Emilia as the mother of the Antipholus twins. Aleta Mitchell is clearly a marvelous actor; it is the casting for that role that is in question. Perhaps she would have been more appropriate in the sexy role of the courtesan.

As much as the costumes were visually lucious, the combination of looks — ancient with contemporary — was rather disturbing to contemplate. The footwear also left something to consider; it defeated the work towards a more cohesive look.

(Due to a very strong demand for tickets, Hartford Stage has extended the run of The Comedy of Errors to May 13. There are evening performances Tuesday through Sunday, and matinees each Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Contact Hartford Stage at 860/527-5151 for ticket and performance details.)