Sex, lies and men in tights:"12th Night" at COM
Julie Garretson
Issue date: 11/2/04 Section: A&E
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"Twelfth Night", like many of Shakespeare's comedies, has a hilarious plot with gut-busting scenes that, if done well, can be really funny. Yet, there is always the question of how well the humor will translate to a modern audience. Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" is a dark, yet rich comedy about identitical twins separated by a shipwreck and the events following cases of mistaken identity, love, and practical jokes that are so disastrously funny you can't help but laugh at their misfortune. The twins, Viola and Sebastian, are shipwrecked off the coast of Illyria; each presumes the other is dead. In hopes to fare better in a man's world, Viola disguises herself as a man, changes her name to Cesario and enters the service of a local duke, Orsino. Orsino, who is passionately in love with the beautiful countess, Olivia, sends "Cesario" to woo her in hopes of winning her affection. The plan backfires. Olivia immediately falls for "Cesario". At the same time, "Cesario" finds herself falling for the duke, Orsino. A love triangle is established. A secondary plot involves the devious scheming of Olivia's drunken uncle, Sir Toby Belch and her maid Maria. The play opened on Oct. 1 and was directed by James Dunn.
The actors did a superb job of adapting to the difficulties of doing Shakespeare. In this play, the actors used just the right volume, tempo, and body gestures for the audience to really understand the events taking place in a particular scene. Heather Gordon was appealing as Viola, who was excellent at staying true to her character Cesario when in Olivia or Orsino's presence. We saw her womanly side appropriately flourish as she finds herself falling for the duke. Olivia, played by Lindsay Drummer, sparkled as the uptight countess who finds herself acting whimsical and impulsive at the sight of Cesario, who she ends up marrying (or so she thought). Matthew Pudon's humor was intoxicating as Olivia's barely functioning drunk uncle, Sir Toby Belch. Feste, Olivia's jester, played by Robert Garcia was hilarious in nearly every scene. His comedic timing, vocal articulation and jester/elf costume achieved a roar from the audience every time. And then there is Malvolio, played by David Alan Moss, who endured the most humiliation. Moss's version of Malvolio provoked much laughter as well creating a special place in each of the audience members' hearts.