What great ones do the less will prattle of— and here be the great ones: Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, in their 20th Anniversary season, presenting to you something certainly worth prattling about! Twelfth Night, directed by the company’s founding Artistic Director, Ian Gallanar, is arguably one of The Bard’s more sensible comedies and CSC does it a great justice with excellent performances, lively music, and a charming aesthetic that would float anyone’s boat.
Juxtaposing a classic Italian port city with true Illyrian vibes against a 1920’s/1930’s Boardwalk Empire sartorial aesthetic, Set Designer Tim Jones and Costume Designer Kristina Lambdin work together to create a unique look and feel for the show’s overall visual spectacle. With a painted blue floor that looks like the roiling water, which bore up the tempest that crashed the ship that split the twins and launched the play, to the overhanging ship’s sail beam-rigging, which serves as a visual framework for the play, and a figurative looming sense that the shipwreck that split Viola and Sebastian is always with them, hovering above the play’s action, Jones’ scenic work achieves a great effect, being both impressive and subtle. The stone-washed wall of the spiraling tower with creeping Wisteria that climbs its way up the turret meshes gently with the strains of faerie lighting strung from its apex down across the stage. These visualizations enhance the experience, allowing for the performers to feel both in Illyria and of their time simultaneously. Sharp suits and striped bathing costumes fill out that mid 20’s early 30’s costume feel by way of Kristina Lambdin’s brilliance. Stripes, seersucker, bowler hats, a time gone by; the aesthetic is most suitable for the production. Lighting Designer Jason Aufdem Brinke deserves a nod as well, bringing the storm effects to life early in the opening moments, alongside Sound Designer Kaydin Hamby.
What ho, Shakespeare with music? Actually, it’s common practice for The Bard’s work to feature some nice strumming and singing. Twelfth Night even has music written into it, specifically for the part of Feste the Fool to be performing. Musical Director Grace Srinivasan showcases talent in bringing some lyrical sounds to heel in this production. The oft-cut/removed character of Fabian (Laura Malkus) who is at times either merged into Feste or completely omitted from smaller productions, is used as the pre-show vocalist. Malkus has a delightful voice that sounds like a strolling Vaudeville performer, or perhaps a salty sea temptress, wandering the sandy shores of Illyria with her songful shanties. Malkus’ voice marries beautifully when singing with Feste (George Michael Harris) and others.
Aside from the visual placement of the show’s stamp in time, Director Ian Gallanar has stayed true to the text and not overworked the notion of the production into anything other than as it is written. Sometimes its nice and refreshing to see a production of Shakespeare as it was intended. Gallanar, working alongside vocal and text coach Emily Erickson, ensures that the archaic dialogue of William Shakespeare is delivered with gusto, feeling, and intentionally focused emotion so that everyone in the audience, regardless of their Shakespearean experience, understanding, and awareness, gets a chance to enjoy the production. Gallanar’s precision in the show’s pacing ties into the overall ethereal notion of this play, which while not a total dream like Midsummer, has an almost dreamlike quality to it. Perhaps a lucid dream that one might envision while falling asleep on a ferry boat or a cruise on their way to vacation. Crisp, precise, and exacting with both timing and progression of scenes, the show moves along swiftly keeping dull moments at bay and the action lively upon the boards.
With a company of just 15 on stage, with each performer rounding our their role in a festive fashion— even if said fashion is cross-gartered— the ensemble of performers play well off of one another, listening and reacting, responding and receiving in a way that showcases their keen understanding of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Fabian (Laura Malkus), Maria (Kathryne Daniels), Sir Toby (Gregory Burgess), and Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Jose Guzman) are a rabble-rousing band of merry idiots who conspire against the unruly and surly Malvolio in that infamous ‘plot against the irritant’ scene. (Act2;sc5) And while technically it’s just Malkus, Guzman, and Burgess who respond to all the shenanigans from their farcical hiding places, Daniels lays the trap and springs to life with laughter both before and after. Add in Feste (George Michael Harris) to this merry band of hooligans and you have a quintet of comedy that no one else in the production can touch. Burgess, as the obnoxiously and hilariously drunk Sir Toby Belch, alongside his protégé, Guzman as the simple-brained Sir Andrew Aguecheek, are a pair of comic cads who drunks tomfoolery has the audience chuckling frequently throughout the production. Daniels, as the witty and sharp-tongued Maria, holds her own against Burgess’ Sir Toby, while Malkus, whose lovely voice delights the audience throughout the production, is more situated as a visual gag— wearing the driving goggles and coat appropriate for the show’s chosen timestamp. Add fool Feste (George Michael Harris) to the mix, and you’ve got the usual suspects of comedy-in-action when it comes to one of the Bard’s funnier pieces.
And while the David Hanauer may just be playing the Sea Captain (at the beginning of the performance) and the Priest (at the end of the performance), you won’t soon forget his antics, particularly as the priest. His mincing, affected walk, and his particular patois (a subtle nod to The Princess Bride or so some may interpret it) for the character’s few lines are quite hilarious. The Sea Captain character only ever encounters Viola while the Priest only ever encounters Sebastian (at this performance, William Kinna), in regards to the set of twins torn asunder by the sea. Kinna, to his impressive and well-rehearsed credit, slips into the show as if he were always intended to be Sebastian. Fresh-faced, full of the vims and vigor of a boy lost at sea, lost in a strange place post-shipwreck, without a coin to his name and only one friend by his side. Kinna plays exceptionally well off of both Antonio (Oz Heiligman) and Olivia (Elana Michelle), the only real characters with him Sebastian has any substantial engagement. Heiligman, as the enigmatic and yet sharp-of-wit Antonio, makes a great show of strength, particularly when trying to avoid the troubles that await the character in this the point town of Illyria. Heiligman has a convivial stage presence that just rings true in the few scenes in which they are on stage.
Twelfth Night in a nutshell isn’t so much mistaken identities as it is intentionally deceptive identities, which results in a comedy of errors, as it were, about who’s falling in love with whom. Duke Orsino (Quincy Vicks) and his posse— Valentine (Tyrel Brown) and Curio (Grant Scherini)— are, at first glance, the court of unrequited love. Unrequited by Countess Olivia (Elana Michelle) and her bunch— Maria (Kathryne Daniels) and Lady in Waiting (Jade Jones)— the whole kerfuffle comes to a head when Viola (Lizzi Albert) washes ashore and takes up the guise of her dead brother. With Albert’s Viola running back and forth between the two houses (and Feste the Fool too for that matter), true comedy ensues!
Quincy Vicks is channeling the vibes of an Saturday Night Live-style character with his approach to Duke Orsino. Over-the-top but balanced so that the character doesn’t become a complete caricature and yet still hilariously kitsch. Elana Michelle is frosty and frigid when it comes to her initial dismissals of the Duke, but watching her turn on a dime into this lovesick puppy over the Duke’s man (who is really Viola in disguise) is quite amusing in its own right. Though Vicks and Michelle don’t share a scene until the very end of the production, the animosity and volatile chemistry between them is palpable, despite Vicks’ character pining away for Olivia while Michelle’s character vehemently rebukes him.
Caught in the middle of the mess is the aforementioned Viola (Lizzi Albert.) Congenial, earnest, and all-around wholesome in her approach to the character and the text, Albert gives more than a solid performance in the role, landing little laugh lines hither and thither without compromising the agony, anguish, and otherwise sheer panic that the character of Viola is experiences as she attempts to process the loss of her brother, assuming his identity, falling in love with her master while disguised as a boy, and fending off the unwanted romantic advances of her master’s unrequited love interest. It’s all very vexing. On top of the solid performance, Albert delivers this near-perfect trans-Atlantic sound and cadence to her speech, which lends itself to reflect the timestamp in which Ian Gallanar has set the production.
One would be remiss if the greatness of Ron Heneghan wasn’t mentioned in this review of CSC’s Twelfth Night. For some are born great, some achieve greatness, and Ron Heneghan’s Malvolio has greatness thrust upon him. It’s a tall order to play the odious character in a way that eventually has the audience feeling sorry for him whilst simultaneously making him obnoxious enough to feel as if he deserves the ‘bear-baiting’ trap laid down in Act II, Scene V. With unmistakable facial expression that readily display Malvolio’s displeasure, Heneghan is perfect in the role, particularly when attempting to appear ‘cross-gartered’ and ‘smiling’ for the unknowing Countess Olivia. What a sight and performance indeed!
Journeys end in lovers meeting— but don’t let the journey end before you get tickets or you’ll be more foolish than Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Feste put together. And that’s saying something! A remarkable and felicitous start to their 20th Anniversary season, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Twelfth Night is a thoroughly enjoyable evening of Shakespearean comedic entertainment.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission
Twelfth Night plays through October 23, 2022 with Chesapeake Shakespeare Company— 7 S. Calvert Street in Baltimore, MD. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 410-244-8570 or purchasing them in advance online.
