This Be Illyria, Lady. Aaargh.
Equity Showcase (July 20 - August 12, 2001)
review by Alyn Hunter....July 25, 2001
This production is staged in Pulse Ensemble Theatre's quaint outdoor courtyard, off of less than quiet 42nd Street, with all the vagaries that outdoor theatre is heir to. That being said: This production of 12th Night is a splendid example of worthwhile Off-Off-Broadway Shakespeare.
12th Night, as written, is a comedic attack on potentially tragic themes. A shipwreck brings the surviving female sister of twins ashore in a land unknown to her. To protect herself she pretends to be a young man and quickly becomes a servant to a slightly crazy Duke. This Duke is in love with a woman that in turn falls in love with the surviving twin dressed as a man. Servants, friends, and family members of the Duke, the woman, and the woman dressed as a man have their own little tensions and deceits. Weaving the collection of plotlines together is a professional Fool that sees truth only in the shine of coins. All things work out in the end, especially in this production.
12th Night, as directed by Louis Lopardi, maintains the integrity of Shakespeare's text as it should, but does much more. Other productions of 12th Night I have seen have been stodgy, tedious, and bland. From the beginning, I had a sense that Lopardi's understanding of the Commedia, even Vaudevillian, aspects of the play and the gestalt sense of what Shakespeare might have had in mind was there. I found myself nodding and smiling at business, delivery and blocking constantly. From Orsino's "If music be the food of love" speech through to the clever insertion of an actual rainstorm to match Feste's song at the very end, I saw and heard deliberate decisions that worked time and again to demonstrate his vision, wit, and understanding of text and subtext.
This production is at once both more bawdy and more thoughtful than others: Sir Andrew's hand is placed firmly on Maria's breast by Maria herself during one of her speeches and direct sexual references in the text, glossed over in other productions, are clearly illustrated by physical action. Duke Orsino has the opening music in his head rather than on minstrel's strings for all to hear, leading his attendants to pity him beneath their servitude. The director utilized every inch of the stage, from using the underside of a platform as a prison, to employing the roof of the building behind the stage as the dock to an unseen harbor. The extended final scene, often considered impossible to stage believably, was designed with exquisite attention to who sees whom when, and balancing the entire cast in such a way as to make it appear organically developed from previous scenes. Further, he composed his own enchanting music, making it fit the overall feel of this production, and adding cohesion to the mass of plot and character.
Roger Hanna's set, on the other hand, was uneven at best. Expanding the playing area beyond the floor onto the roof of the courtyard's back wall was a good choice, as was the nautical theme. Creating a broken mast around the tree that grew in the center of the stage was ill-conceived. Considering the shipwreck that separates the twins actually takes place prior to the opening of the play and out to sea, I found the mast quite out of place. Then there's the plastic sheeting: Not even in community theater have I seen unpainted plastic sheeting (resembling black trash bags) used as walls and backdrops. Was it an atrocious decision or just laziness? Either way, it was out of place and highly distracting. Lighting by Zhanna Gurvich was adequate.
Mark Campbell walked on stage and made me forget the eyesore. He set a wonderful, off-center tone which lasted for the rest of the evening, commanding the stage with every movement and word. He was the Duke, and nobody, especially not his two attending servants, were going to tell him he was a little insane. He plays the role with the intensity and presence Orsino deserves but seldom gets. I look forward to seeing him in his next endeavor.
Though appearing only once as the Ship Captain that brings Viola ashore at the top of the second scene, Jerry Goralnick scared the feathers out of me. Duke Orsino leaves Lopardi's Shakespearean stage production of 12th Night and on walks someone acting like a pirate from Disney's Treasure Island. I almost fell off my seat I was laughing so hard. The only things missing were a parrot on his shoulder and an eye patch. At the other end of the play Goralnick was quite adequate as the Priest.
Carlie McCarthy was a wonderful Viola. Every line was delivered with vigor. Though I could see the miserable heat taking it's toll on her, McCarthy plowed through the night. She maintained her male facade with broad gesture and well-crafted line delivery, only occasionally going overboard (ahem) with her characterization. She played the male attendant to the Duke well enough to make me forget that even with a highly enforced suspension of disbelief she was obviously an attractive female in trousers Her reactions to Orsino and Olivia were right on the nose. I loved watching her act. The only real criticism of her performance lies with the sometimes lengthy time she took to deliver her lines.
Walter Brandes, was well cast as Sebastian, and plays a fine male twin to Viola. His performance was energetic and full of variety, but at the same time I found it a bit uncontrolled. It was less practiced skill and more the actual moment that seemed to create his movements and line interpretations. Nevertheless, when he and Viola appear together in the final scene, I enjoyed every second.
Of all the actors in this production Michael Gilpin, as Sir Toby Belch, was the most constant. From the moment he entered until his last exit, he was performing. Intense when he needed to be and attentive to every other actor he shared the stage with, his broad (and occasionally overdone) portrayal was fired with enthusiasm and vigor.
Hal B. Klien, as Feste, has the marvelous ability to rattle-off strings of words that under ordinary circumstances have no right to appear in the same sentence. The flowing nature of his speech does not make up for a frequent lack of understanding or range of emotion. What should have been the most intriguing wordplay in the production, by the character that is supposed to be a multifaceted bridge between plots and subplots, turned out to be a disappointment. And I truly hope his abominable musical timing and inability to maintain a melody was deliberate.
Brian Linden, as Malvolio, was entrancing. From his first moment on stage my attention was riveted to him. Linden brings life to this character - a somewhat two-dimensional one, as most Shakespearean comedic characters are. Malvolio is necessarily played broad, but with such nuance and flavor as this I was taken by surprise. I found myself laughing out loud at lines and action I've known for many years.
Natalie Wilder's Olivia was captivating. She took what usually comes across as the least interesting of 12th Night's characters, necessarily bland as a contrast to those around her, and made the role dance. I was spellbound with her portrayal as she quickly fell in love with Viola and eventually bed and wed her brother, thinking it was Viola.
Maria and Sir Andrew Aguecheek created exceptional moments on stage. Steve Abbruscato as Sir Andrew was lost, scattered, and uproariously droll, and Molly Harrington as Maria was at once starved for affection and desperate to enliven her boring day. Both carried their roles with pride and skill, and I enjoyed watching them interpret and develop their characters.
Karen Sweeney, as Fabian, (conceived as household chef for a pleasant change) is spirited. As the text dictates, she appears without explanation to join Sir Toby in his plot against Malvolio. Her lively grasp of the dialogue and her animated attentiveness to other action on stage helped to quiet my bewilderment at her character's presence in the play.
Victor Alexander, Nestor Colon, Alea Pierro, and Michael Woinoski round out the cast with fine presentations. Most of the costuming by Terry Leong was functional and handsome, though I spotted several anachronistic props. Olivia's dress and jewelry made an already beautiful woman stunning, and Malvolio's outfits were all hilarious.
| Writing/Adaptation | |
| Directing | |
| Acting | |
| Costume design | |
| Set design | |
| Lighting design | |
| Original Music | |