Menaechmi, or The Menaechmus Brothers, is ancient — about 2,200 years old, and its comedy conventions are still in use today. Plautus adapted (dare I say upcycled?) the script from an unknown Greek New Comedy, a frequent practice in Roman theatre, in which the audience always knows what’s going on better than the characters do. In this play, what’s going on is a case of mistaken identity.

 

Like other classical comedies, Menaechmi (pronounced 'men-ECK-mee' in American English) also features stereotypical characters, ridiculous situations, physical comedy (often in the form of violence), and a big dose of silliness. We’re supposed to laugh AT the characters, and not with them, as they engage in denial, confusion, misunderstanding, and plain idiocy. Characters also have asides, where they can talk privately to the audience, and we all pretend that the other characters can’t hear it.

One feature common before the 20th century was the prologue, which introduced the story to the audience. A prologue could take different forms and serve varying agendas. Roman plays refer to the prologue as the ‘argument.’ In other cases, playwrights have written some prologues as a platform for personal complaints and rivalries to the amusement of history geeks like me.
 

Once you start looking for this storyline, you’ll see it everywhere. Shakespeare basically rewrote Menaechmi and called it The Comedy of Errors. You’ll also hear its echo in Commedia dell’Arte, musical comedies (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Boys from Syracuse), movies (Galaxy Quest, Back to the Future, Date Night), sitcoms starring twins (Full House, Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Sister, Sister) and even in some murder mysteries.

We know Plautus's comedies were very popular, but we really don't know how these ancient comedies were produced and performed. However, I’m excited that they included music, and that the text may have even been sung or chanted. In this manner, I’ve styled the prologue as a comic poem to be recited, sung, rapped, or whatever strikes one’s fancy. I hope directors and performers will have fun exploring the possibilities here.