Review: Upright Theatre Co. challenges gender boundaries with Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night

Produced by Upright Theatre

Reviewed by David Ellivloc

Shakespeare scares me in an “I’ll go in the pool, but I ain’t goin’ in the deep end” kind of way.  I love theater, reviewing plays, and even performing on stage in drama, comedy, and musicals.  Yet ask me to review a Shakespeare play and my first thought is “Whoa!”.  Still, after a deep breath I will accept the assignment.

And why would I do that, metaphorically leap right into the deep end without benefit of water wings or lifeguard?  I do it because, over the years, I’ve realized that if “they”, the theater/movie company, did Shakespeare right, then I got it!  But if “they” did it wrong then it sucked for not only me but everyone else as well.  I guarantee you that if you see Shakespeare done right, you’ll love it, you’ll enjoy it, and you’ll want to see more of it, just like me!  Luckily, for all of us, the Upright Theatre Co. production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is extremely well-done and is playing in Euless through June 17^th.

Furthermore, not only can you handle Shakespeare when done well, but you also already know some Shakespeare, and how amazing is that?!?!?  Why, the very first words uttered in Twelfth Night might very well be familiar to you.  The unhappy, lovesick Orsino tells his servants and musicians, “If music be the food of love, play on.”  Does that ring a bell?  How ‘bout “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”?  Certainly, you’ll recognize “Westward-ho”, the ubiquitous phrase of many a movie Western, which Shakespeare did not coin but borrowed from London watermen who plied the River Thames, and which is most probably still in common usage because he used that turn of phrase.

And if all that isn’t enough to make you feel comfortable seeing this production, rest assured that when you first walk into Upright Theatre Co., you’ll discover an inviting space filled with café tables and chairs, perfect for visiting with friends and other theatergoers, as you enjoy an adult beverage, soda, or snack, any time before, during, and after the show.  Here you can behave like Shakespeare’s original spectators, who liked to drink wine or ale and snack on a variety of foods as they watched the plays—modern-day excavations at the playhouses have turned up bottles, spoons, oyster shells, and the remnants of many fruits and nuts.

Once settled in your seat, the next attention grabber will likely be the spare yet effective set, consisting of a massive seascape backdrop, a main stage area, three stairs leading to a raised platform center stage, and a series of tall pylons on casters that also bear the seascape motif.  Throughout the action those pylons are moved around in differing combinations as minimalistic representations of different locations in the play, including even a sinking ship breaking apart in a storm.  For while Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s comedies, key to the play’s action is a shipwreck, wherein a loving brother and his twin sister each survive but are separated and left to believe the other is dead.  Delightfully, much romance and comic mayhem ensue.  Indeed, you’ll quickly realize that Twelfth Night is not a stuffy Shakespeare play to be feared but a Rom-Com, a romantic comedy, to be enjoyed.  Just like our movie Rom-Coms of today, this Shakespeare play is focused on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love can surmount most obstacles. 

At the very top of the play there’s the sounds of the sea.  The highborn Olivia’s brother has died, and his friends and family have gathered to entrust his ashes to the sea.  During this scene, there’s a song of sweet lilting lament, The Seamen’s Hymn, beautifully sung by Laura Lester as Feste, Lady Olivia’s fool.  This song was not written by Shakespeare, as are the other songs Lester sings in the play, but was added by the Director, Jericho Thomas, to excellent effect.  These songs allow Lester’s Feste to comment on the people and happenings on stage through music, in addition to the witty verbal repartee that is a Fool’s stock in trade.  Lester takes great glee in skewering master, mistress and servant alike, in both song and spoken word, which makes her Feste a perfect Fool, a crucial and respected member of the court who isn’t all about making off-color jokes and jingling bells.

While Lester’s Feste loves entertaining and snatching coins from the hands of fans, the other lovers in this play pine for a person rather than gold or applause.  First up is Viola, our young heroine who, to stay safe after her shipwreck in a foreign land, disguises herself as a young man, Cesario, dressing in her presumed dead twin brother’s clothes.  Gwen Mowdy is captivating and impishly beautiful as the young Viola despite her masquerade as a young buck named Cesario.  In her guise as Cesario she hies off to Duke Orsino to obtain a place in his court and be able to learn about what happened to her brother, Sebastian, if indeed there is any news about his survival.  Mowdy’s ease with the language of Shakespeare, and her delight in it, is evident.  Indeed, the entire cast has great facility with the language and fills it with meaning.

Handsome John Marshall’s Duke Orsino, hopes to overdose on love through music, thereby ending his desire to love any longer, which is why in his most famous line he asks the musicians to “play on”.  For Orsino’s obstacle to love is that his desired, Olivia, is just not that into him!  Mowdy’s Cesario quite charms Marshall’s Orsino, as she does the audience, with her sweet smile and guileless innocence.  Marshall’s Orsino immediately enlists Mowdy’s Cesario to aid him in wooing Olivia, dispatching Cesario to call upon the lady.  Like Marshall’s Orsino, Grace Grooms’ Olivia is charmed by Cesario and promptly falls in love.  Grooms and Marshall both do an excellent job establishing their characters’ lack of character, for both Orsino and Olivia are ultimately almost identically self-indulgent self-involved melodramatic beings.  For while Orsino pines for Olivia, Olivia pines for her dead brother.  It’s Mowdy’s Viola, in the guise of Cesario, who breaks their shells, with Marshall’s Orsino becoming puzzled by the depth of his feelings for this fine bromance with Mowdy’s Cesario, who similarly has Grooms’ Olivia at hello.  Grooms makes Olivia’s newfound passion perfectly clear as she almost physically melts with joy on their first meeting.  There’s also a lovely physical bit of business between Marshall’s Orsino and Mowdy’s Cesario where they can’t help snuggling up to each other while hanging out, the conflicting emotions crossing their faces as they slowly move ever closer make the inner turmoil clear and the comedy charming.

Grooms makes Olivia so fun to watch, as she swings between emotional highs versus lows and grand behavior versus desperation.  Mowdy’s Cesario squirms as she diligently puts forth the Duke’s case for a match because Groom’s Olivia is so adamant and obvious in her desire and pursuit of Cesario.  Meanwhile, Mowdy’s Viola realizes that she’s just as smitten with the Duke.  Mowdy explains this for the audience by literally drawing a triangle in the air, all while reciting her lines describing the “she loves him-who loves another-who loves her while believing she’s a he” conundrum.  Such indication with physical action helps modern audiences understand the Shakespearean dialogue.  Director Jericho Thomas has his actors indicating throughout the play, for which he should be commended as it helps make the story he’s telling very clear, with Mowdy at times using air quotes or a wink as a physical cue to the audience of the meaning of her dialogue.

Resolving the love triangle is the main action of the play but, like all good Rom-Coms, there are a handful of good sub-plots in which to lose ourselves, while waiting for the inevitable fairy-tale ending.  For Olivia has a pedantic steward, changed to a woman in this production, named Malvolia, played by a tightly wound Riley Turner, who is also smitten with Olivia.  Unfortunately for Malvolia, her yearning for Olivia is used against her as several folks she’s rubbed the wrong way target her with a prank.  Turner plays Malvolia with conviction you believe her joy when she falls for the prank, as well as her anguish when the prank plays out.  Sarah “Wryn” Stoll plays Sir Toby as a larger than life ne’er-do-well whose conniving and cavorting is excused by the glee with which Stoll’s Sir Toby embraces life and any available coin or wench.  Kyle Morris’ Sir Andrew is a clueless wannabe ne’er-do-well and its great fun watching as Stoll’s Toby fleeces Morris’ Andrew while showing him the good time of his dreams!  It’s these two who conspire with Darolyn Nieves’ Maria and Whitney Morris’s vengeful Fabia (changed from Fabian a male servant in the original) in their plot to prank Malvolia.  Nieves is excellent as Maria, giving her a saucy savoir faire as she easily handles these two gallants and all the others, high born or low.
Hayden Casey’s Sebastian is Viola’s sexy brother who, unbeknownst to her, survived the shipwreck.  When he turns up in town there are new complications as he is mistaken for Viola’s alter ego Cesario by many, while Viola in the guise of Cesario is likewise mistaken for Sebastian by many, including Antonio, who loves Sebastian.  Sophia Zamora plays Antonio, as well as Valentine, a minor servant of the Duke’s, and her shock, confusion, and anger when she thinks Sebastian has done her wrong is moving.  Casey’s ecstasy as Sebastian when he thinks he’s found love at first sight, when in fact the person loving him back believes him to be Cesario, is sweet and moving.  Meanwhile, Jeston Hays adds some zest with each of the three characters he plays, Sea Captain, Priest, and Curio, managing to make each unique.

The Costume Design is by Megan A. Liles and all characters are garbed in fairly modern dress with hints of an other worldliness in the trimming and accessories.  Feste, our Fool, is garbed in the colors of a circus tent.  Olivia has pearls galore and big movie star shades and a lovely scarf when going incognito.  All costuming suited the characters and added to the ambience.

Come have a wonderful night at Twelfth Night! Upright Theatre Co., once again, gets it right with their newest production, Twelfth Night, a Shakespearean rom-com full of fun and frolic!

Audience Rating: G

Running Time:  Approximately two hours and thirty minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
Accessible seating: Available
Hearing Devices Available: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Showing: Not Available
Production Sound Level: Comfortable Volume
Noises and Visuals to Know About: No
 
See you at the theater!
David Ellivloc