Interlochen Shakespeare Festival production of ‘The Comedy of Errors’ honored in 2023-24 Wilde Awards
The production scored Encore Michigan’s sole “Best Performance of the Bard” accolade—plus awards for costume design, scenic design, and choreography.
Set designer Edward T. Morris (IAC 97-98) shows off the vivid yellow set of The Comedy of Errors.
The Interlochen Shakespeare Festival’s summer 2024 production of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors received four accolades in Encore Michigan’s annual Wilde Awards.
The swing era-inspired twist on The Comedy of Errors was the only production selected to receive a Wilde Award for Best Performance of the Bard. Encore Michigan critic Marin Heinritz praised the show as “laugh-out-loud funny, tremendously satisfying high art” and a “tightly crafted show full of marvelous performances” in her July 8 review.
Three members of The Comedy of Errors creative team also earned honors in the 2023-24 awards:
- Amanda Lifvendahl - Best Costumes
- Matthew Lindstrom - Best Choreography
- Edward T. Morris - Best Scenic Design
"The cast and creative team behind our production of Comedy of Errors were a delight to work with, and I'm so pleased that their work has been acknowledged with these awards,” said Interlochen Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director William Church. “It is always a pleasure to collaborate with fellow Interlochen faculty, staff, and alumni to bring Shakespeare to our community."
Named in honor of playwright Oscar Wilde and founded in 2002, the Wilde Awards celebrate the best productions, performances, and technical work produced or presented by professional theatres throughout the state of Michigan. The awards are presented annually by Encore Michigan, the only media outlet that covers theatre productions statewide. During the 2023-24 season, critics from Encore Michigan reviewed 102 productions for consideration for the Wilde Awards.
Established in 2008, the Interlochen Shakespeare Festival engages northwest Michigan audiences through professional theatre that celebrates the Shakespearean imagination. Under the guidance of founder, artistic director, and Interlochen Director of Theatre William Church, the Festival has presented more than 15 plays—including Wilde Award-winning productions of Othello, Richard III, and King Lear. The Festival is staged at Interlochen’s Upton-Morley Pavilion, a 467-seat, open-air venue that allows audiences to experience Shakespeare just as Elizabethan audiences would have: surrounded by the majesty of nature.
