So, last month I did a review of the Utah Shakespeare
Festival production of A Comedy of Errors.
Since then I’ve had the opportunity to see Twelfth
Night¸ twice. Yes, it really was
that good. The best part? I got to
attend both times for free. Now, for
anyone not familiar with the storyline, I’ll give you a brief summary. It’s the story of a pair of twins separated
in a shipwreck, both believing the other is dead. The sister, Viola, pretends to be a boy and
takes work with a local Count named Orsino.
Orsino is attempting to woo the local beauty; a woman named Olivia. She, however, is in mourning for her recently
deceased brother, and is refusing all wooing efforts. When Viola, dressed as Cesario, shows up in
Orsino’s service, Olivia falls for the “young man,” who is turn has fallen for
his/her employer. While there is some
humor in this plotline and odd love triangle, especially once Viola’s twin
brother shows up, confusing things even more, this version of the play has the
real humor in the secondary plotline of the story.
Olivia’s household, consisting of various servants, kinsmen,
and the visiting Sir Andrew, provide the greatest moments for humor in the
play. For anyone who saw last year’s
production of Peter and the Starcatchers,
all I should have to say is one thing: Black Stache. The actor who so beautifully filled the
comedic role of the dastardly Black Stache takes on the role of the foolish,
foppish Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and very nearly steals the show. My sister and I agreed that we looked forward
to his scenes more than anything else in the show. His comedic timing and ability to perform
both the physical and verbal humor is pretty much unmatched. I will admit, having seen the show the first
time, I was concerned I wouldn’t enjoy it as much during a second viewing; not
so. If anything, the second time was
even better. It was especially fun when
he was able to work in a reference to the homecoming fireworks display we could
hear going on outside the theater.
My only…not complaint, but least favorite part of the show
were the several songs scattered throughout the play. These are part of the original play, and the
actor who performed them was excellent; they just felt like they slowed the
show down just a bit. Overall, however,
the play was phenomenal, and I would gladly have gone several more times, just
to continue to catch the various bits of verbal humor that get thrown around
throughout the play. This production has
definitely placed Twelfth Night right
up there with Much Ado About Nothing¸ and
The Tempest as my favorite
Shakespeare plays.
