Review Twelfth Night: Mistaken identities and misdirected love

By Gwendolyn Rice, Isthmus, June 26, 2019

Normally Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night begins with a shipwreck, but American Players Theatre’s production, directed by John Langs,starts with a variety show. In front of an impromptu curtain, a set of fraternal twins sings, dances, and merrily exchanges costumes onboard a ship, showing that only a skirt or breeches betray their true sex. But as the siblings kick up their heels and encourage the audience of sailors to join in their song, thunder crashes. The ship pitches wildly in a storm, and in a beautiful, poignant moment choreographed by Jessica Bess Lanius, the twins grasp hands, only to be separated by the waves.

This inspired opening sets the tone for a production that exceeds expectations in scene after scene. With extensive original music by Josh Schmidt and a notable ensemble that dives deeply into physical comedy, challenging wordplay, the pain of unrequited love, the sweetness of revenge, and the giddiness of new discoveries, this classic Shakespearean comedy is filled with moments of originality and illumination.

Kelsey Brennan is Viola, the female twin who is washed ashore in Illyria and dons men’s clothes to pass herself off as a eunuch, serving in the court of Count Orsino while she gets her bearings. After her “pants” role last season in The Recruiting Officer, Brennan easily assumes the guise of Cesario, only betraying her identity in plaintive soliloquies to the audience about her growing affection for her master, the lovesick Orsino, played with emotional complexity by Gavin Lawrence.

Orsino, who enters moping his way down a long staircase with the familiar “If music be the food of love, play on ...” wallows in his obsession with Olivia (Aila Peck), an unattainable woman who spurns his every advance. In his despair, he is increasingly intrigued by the “boy” he has recently taken into his service. During an emotional duet, Cesario and Orsino connect palpably, and then unexpectedly, in a sudden kiss. It is the high point of a play about the pursuit of true love.

Read the full review here!