Theater review: For lusty summer romance, revel at APT’s ‘Twelfth Night’

By Lindsay Christians, The Cap Times, July 1, 2019

It’s a glorious time to be back in Illyria, no matter how you get there — capsized in a storm, drawn by a beautiful mourning countess or back after months of rambling. The skies have cleared in Orsino’s court. Love is in every other glance.

If American Players Theatre’s “Twelfth Night” was a novel, it would be a beach read.

Director John Langs’ production of “Twelfth Night” had a watery start in more ways than one. Shakespeare’s 1602 comedy of disguise and frustrated romance opens in a shipwreck, as twins Viola and Sebastian are tossed, separately, onto the shores of Illyria. Opening night got damper than the players’ bargained for this June, when the first official performance got rained out a few scenes into Act II.

“Twelfth Night” was last seen here in 2012 in a rather dour production by David Frank, who leaned into the sadness of so many characters in love with the wrong people. Langs spins off in a different direction, recasting the comedy in the image of freewheeling, stubborn Sir Toby Belch (Triney Sandoval). 

The play bops along on the energy of Sandoval, an exceptional performer who can turn from clowning to earnest seamlessly. He leads a fabulous entourage: a fool played by La Shawn Banks with a rich baritone and one arching eyebrow; Ted Deasy, seven feet or so of goofy, high-kicking knight; and Phoebe González, a gleeful co-conspirator.

Colleen Madden, as the maid Maria, casts longing glances in Sir Toby’s direction as she raises the stakes of the comedy. In her boldest move, she claps the hand of a man she’s just met onto her breast (“Bring your hand to the buttery bar and let it drink.”)

These scenes with pranksters and drunkards have equal weight to more serious ones with our quartet of lovers. Viola (Kelsey Brennan), in disguise as a boy, has landed a spot in the court of Orsino, who spends most of his time wallowing over a woman (Olivia) who doesn’t want him.

Read the full review here!