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| Richard Ruiz (Sir Toby), Mark Blashford (Andrew
Aguecheek), Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte (Malvolio), Curtis Longfellow (Fabian) |
On the twelfth night of Christmas,
the Lord of Misrule reigns supreme. Shakespeare apparently penned his “Twelfth
Night” with that idea in mind and, as boarded by the Connecticut Repertory
Theatre, this comedy of misrule and mistaken identities, under the direction of
Victor Maog, gets a boisterous treatment.
The emphasis here is on broad
comedy as Viola (Juliana Bearse) and
Sebastian (Jeff DeSisto), twins, are shipwrecked off the shore of Ilyria
Ah, but there are complications (of
course), for Orsino is in love with Olivia (Madison Coppola), and sends Viola,
now disguised as a man, to woo the fair maid in his place. Olivia promptly
falls in love with the emissary. Oh, what is to be done?
Olivia, now smitten, must still
deal with the misrule in her own household, most of it generated by Sir Toby
Belch (Richard Ruiz), who is milking Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Mark Blashford) for
all he is worth with the help of Fabian (Curtis Longfellow) while bedeviling
Malvolio (Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte), Olivia’s steward.
The love triangle proceeds apace as
Sir Toby, with the assistance of Maria (Arlene Bozich), Olivia’s gentlewoman,
dreams up a plot to lure the pompous Malvolio to believe that his mistress is
in love with him and wishes him to dress in yellow stocking, be cross-gartered,
and smile a lot.
It all comes to a “Who are you,
sir? Nay, who are you?” conclusion, with everyone satisfied, matched and
married save for poor Malvolio, probably the most abused character in the
Shakespearean canon.
Maog has taken the spirit of
Twelfth Night to heart, and has apparently urged his actors to lay it on thick
whenever possible. Purists may squirm a bit, but there’s no denying that his
vision has been faithfully brought to life by a primarily young cast (lots of
students up there on the stage) that eagerly cavorts and emotes.
Bearse, who had a bit of trouble
with her moustache during the performance I saw, gives us an endearing Viola,
although it’s a strain to believe that she could be mistaken for her brother
(always a challenge when casting this play). However, she handles being “male”
with aplomb, not an easy task.
However, there are some
show-stealers up there, chief among them Blashford, as Aguecheek, Coppola as
Olivia, and Guilarte as the much put upon Malvolio. Blashford is awkwardness
personified, with one stocking up and the other down, all flailing legs and
arms. It’s an engaging performance. And Coppola is mesmerizing as the
love-struck Olivia, easily portraying her character’s rising passion and
bringing it to a state of controlled dementia. Then there’s Guilarte as
Malvolio. If you looked up the word “pomposity” in the dictionary, you’d
probably find his picture. His extended cross-gartered scene is priceless.
Scenes are delineated by a set of
doors (created by scenic designer Brett Calvo) that open and close and frame
what looks like an upside-down birch tree (its symbolism escaped me). The flash
and fury of the storm that opens the show is supplied by sound designer Abigail
Golec and lighting designer Justin Poruban.
There’s an attempt to give a
holiday overlay to the proceedings via two somewhat drab Christmas trees and
some carols disguised as Medieval music. It all seems somewhat superfluous and
forced, but, ‘tis the season.
Is this the definitive production
of “Twelfth Night”? No, but it has many charms and, given Moag’s directorial
intent, is of a piece. You may find Viola’s pawing of Orsino a bit much, and
have to work hard at suspending your disbelief at certain moments, but there’s
a lot of energy up there on the stage and some fine performances.
“Twelfth Night” runs through
December 19. For tickets or more information call 860-486-2113 or go to
www.crt.uconn.edu.
I do not believe that he is the most abused character in all of Shakespeare. He comes pretty close to taking first prize, at least, from all the ones I have read, but a few beat him in that regard. Shylock however, would probably win the gold medal for that one.
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