“TWELFTH NIGHT “ CHARMS ON FESTIVAL STAGE DESPITE STEADY DRIZZLE

“The Wind And The Rain,”

“A great while ago the world begun,

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

But that’s all one, our play is done,

And we’ll strive to please you every day”

“ The show will goeth on”, so sayeth artistic director Barry Edelstein in his welcoming first nighter’s to the Globe’s opening  season on the Lowell Davies Festival Stage. The rain will not stop the show. 

Those with umbrellas had less concern that those of us without, but we were blanketed, wrapped in rain gear, and prayed the actors on a wet stage would be safe. They  cautiously, but without notice, went about their roles with confidence: no falls, no slips just a bit wet. 

This isn’t the first time  it rained on the Festival stage’s parade at an opening night performance of “12th Night”. If memory is correct, it happened once in 2015.  

But so much for the history of rain on San Diego’s plain. We’ve had our own share recently.

Biko Eisen-Martin

“The Twelfth Night” is said to be one of Shakespeare’s most favored romantic  cross dressing comedies. It resembles “Comedy of Errors” in that both are plays about identical twins, separation and reunion, mistaken identity, boys playing girls and vise-versa , and shipwrecks. As the tale goes Viola is washed ashore on the Island of Ilyria when her ship is wrecked and broken, tossing her and her twin brother, Sebastian onto the same island.  She thinks he’s dead but unbeknownst to her, he’s still alive. As soon as she’s found, Shakespeare puts her in male attire so everyone thinks she is a man/boy in order for her to get around the island er…safely.  Over time, this creates a love triangle among Viola/Cesario, Orsino and Olivia. 

Now if it sounds complicated, consider Olivia in love with Cesario who is really Viola. Orsino is in love with the boy Cesario who is really a woman dressed as a boy, and Viola, dressed as a boy is in love with Orsino, the macho Duke who shows signs of being attracted to Viola /Cesario as well

It doesn't get much better than that. While cross-dressing was a common plot device in Shakespeare's time, cross-dressing was  considered to be natural since women’s roles were played by men. Same-sex relationships were promptly terminated once the masquerader's true gender became known.

There were indications that Antonio (Jude Tibeau) was in love with his good friend Sebastian, but that was really a no- no! The play is a sexual mess without saying so. Everything in time though gets somewhat cleared up, while questions about some of the characters still leave doubt.

I

Medina Senghore and Naian Gonzalez Norvind

Biko Eisen-Martin and Naian Gonzalez Norvind

hree time Tony winner Kathleen Marshall directs with the  great gift of timing and style with Michael Krass’ elegant costumes, Lawrence E. Moten III eye pleasing and rotating set with benches and a little crook for the talented musicians to entertain the Duke. (Morgan Carberry violinist and music director), Stephen Strawbridge’s lovely lighting design, Melanie Chen Cole’s sound (Unfortunately too much farting) and 

Miriam Strum and Michael Bodeen’s beautiful and original music (six songs in all) is a feast to the ears.

Jose Balistrieri and Esco Jouley

There isn’t a weak link in the bunch and the play rolls along with one mistaken identity after another getting each of the players more deeply embroiled in their own mire just as, I’m sure, Shakespeare intended. Sir Andrew, Aguecheek (O’Connell)  and Feste kept the audience on their toes. O’Connell, who is the biggest clown without knowing he’s funny, takes the prize for his silliness and idiocy. As Sir Andrew he fits the bill perfectly while working the audience taking his character to the limits and even ending up in jail for his shall we say, his ignorance.  

As the head honcho of Olivia’s household, he comes across with the holier-than-thou attitude making him the least liked character and nemesis of Belch and Maria (Sarah Joyce) Olivia’s housemaid.  They can’t stand the guy, so they hatch a ridiculous scheme and actually convince him that Olivia is in love with him. The contortions they convince him to go through to gain her attention and his pulling it off with panache is the true test of a real pro. 

Greg Germann as Malvolio with Jason O’Connell as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Bernadette Sefic as Fabian, and Cornell Womack as Sir Toby Belch 

Naian González Norvind is a walking contradiction as she weaves between her roles as confidant and page to the duke and love object to both countess and duke all the while a woman in a man’s disguise. Watching her walk that tightrope and then seeing both duke and countess vie for her affection and attention is as convincing as can be and that’s all the play requires. Both Eisen-Martin  as Orsino and Norvind are a hoot as they try, coolly enough without tripping all over themselves, to romance Olivia. All three are plusses in this cross gender, mistaken identity and highly improbable yet exceptionally well-done production of Shakespeare’s comedy,  “The Twelfth Night” 

And so “If music be the food of love, play on”.

Enjoy.

See you at the theatre.

 

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays and July 3. Through July 9 (no performances June 17 or July 4)

Where: Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego

Tickets: $29 and up

Phone: (619) 234-5623

Photo: Jim Cox

Online: theoldglobe.org