Over the last five years, I have seen four versions of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Mark Rylance was a mesmerizing Olivia on Broadway. The combination of two well-regarded theater companies, Classic Stage and Fiasco, presented a less successful production last year. Bedlam did two versions in repertory with the actors switching roles. One was called What You Will (or twelfth night) with both a simple set and costumes bathed in all white. This same aesthetic is on display with Duende Productions in their inaugural show of this oft-performed classic.
White is a smart choice to define a canvas where gender identity is fluid. The twins Sebastian and Viola are separated in a shipwreck. Disguised as a man named Cesario, Viola falls in love with Duke Orsino who is in love with Countess Olivia. Olivia thinks Cesario is a man and falls in love with the disguised Viola. Adding to that love triangle, several characters conspire to convince Olivia’s pompous steward, Malvolio, that she is interested in him.
Written as a “twelfth night” Christmas entertainment, the original would have included music. In this production, Feste the Clown (Olivia Vessel) strums original music on her guitar and there are good songs throughout. “If music be the food of love, play on.” The play is performed in only one act, a very long time to remain seated on relatively stiff off-off Broadway folding chairs.
For its first production, Duende’s Founding Artistic Director Amy Gaither-Hayes wanted to create a bare staging to bring “the focus back to the language.” I’m not sure this intention is truly unique but the eight actors in this play were committed to the bard’s words with very simple props and minimal costume changes. Lines are certainly played with such as the humorous reference to “fishmonger, hugger-mugger crap.”
The energetic cast appears to be relishing the opportunity to dive headfirst into their broadly conceived characterizations. There is a lot of scenery being chewed here. (Check that. The scenery is non-existent so it must have been chewed already!) When this play’s famously hilarious scenes do occur, those decisions ensure funny will indeed happen.
The cast is visibly sitting throughout this production on the sidelines. As was the case with last season’s Fiasco interpretation, the cast is often laughing much louder than the audience. That effect can be fun but can also seem like a distracting and forced laugh track. Whichever your opinion, when Jim Ireland’s fun-hating, puritanical Malvolio is on stage, you cannot help but be mightily amused. This tattling, power hungry schemer’s comeuppance is one of the show’s high points.
Seth Rue nicely fills the double bill of Sir Toby and Sebastian, distinguished by different accents and wearing a hat (or not). Everyone has memorable moments. I especially enjoyed Richard Busser’s intense Duke Orsino, Alexandra Bonesho’s captivating speech when Antonio is accused and Kaileela Hobby’s delightful Viola.
Ms. Hayes directed this production and also starred as Olivia and played Valentine. Her performance was, I presume, intentionally more subdued than the vigorously emotive acting by the rest of the cast. As a result, this version of Twelfth Night seemed a bit out of balance. That is not uninteresting, just different.
The other, more unfortunate problem is that cleverness trumped clarity. If you’ve never seen Twelfth Night before, I am not sure this is the right place to jump in without prereading a synopsis. With only one act, some of the language is seriously rushed. Conceptual creativity is usually entertaining. When it overshadows storytelling, however, the mission cannot be considered completely successful.
I look forward to Duende’s next effort. For its first outing, the team assembled some impressively talented (and well-matched) performers that were seemingly given ample freedom to bring their characters to life. With more focus on the core storytelling, the creative flourishes will be even more appreciated.
theaterreviewsfrommyseat/twelfthnight/classicstagefiascotheater