Twelfth Night
Reviewed by William Bryan
Running
time 2:15 – with one intermission
Shakespeare’s most successful comedy
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” This famous line from Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece also happens to describe the performance of the same show by Firebelly Production’s young cast. The greatness here, of course, is the work of Shakespeare himself. But Director Akiva Fox achieves a level of greatness in bringing out the talents of his cast and Joshua Drew, in the role of Malvollo, has greatness thrust upon him by his casting as the uptight servant of the Countess. To be certain, this is not outstanding Shakespearian work. It is however entertaining and cannot be beat for the price. It also provides a means for actors just starting their professional careers to gain experience with this acting style. A simple set and simple staging leave the focus on the actors and the acting, resulting in an engaging if sometimes awkward production.
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Storyline:
Shakespeare’s classic story of mistaken identity, mistaken love, and
mistaken devotion finds a girl disguised as a boy falling in love with a
Duke in love with a Countess who falls in love with the girl … hilarity
ensues.
Akiva Fox, whose latest directing work was seen in the short play Howard at the Winter Carnival of New Works, takes this timeless piece and presents it in a simple setting with minimum focus on details such as set and costume. Instead he concentrates more on ensuring his cast and crew convey the play in such a way that an audience unfamiliar with the piece will still find much to enjoy. There are some awkward moments. The stage fights are clumsy and leave one feeling uneasy, hoping that no one really gets hurt, and some lines by performers in the smaller roles are delivered in a stilting manner, but overall there is much to enjoy over the five acts. For those who seek to experience Shakespeare with a light element of fun in an up close and intimate setting, this is the production to attend. While sometimes clumsy, it is not painful to sit through; in fact the actors are enjoying themselves so much on stage that it is easy to get swept along with them. Special mention goes to Joshua Drew for his portrayal of the priggish servant whose nature leads him to be the butt of one of the major jokes in the play. It takes great courage to appear on stage in nothing more than boxers and crossed garters over yellow women’s stockings. Also entertaining is John Reynolds, the singing jester whose two numbers during the show are well done and easy on the ear. As often is the case with one of Shakespeare’s works, since it is in the open domain, all bets are off as to what kind of staging, costumes, and props will be inserted by well meaning productions. In the case at Firebelly we find portable CD players and Polaroid snapshots taking their place alongside old English and period props. It works for the production, but sometimes the mixing of the new with the old can offend some purists. Let those who need a more strictly conforming production attend one of the many other performances during the Shakespeare in Washington festival, but for those who can stand a little tongue in cheek with their comedy, this is a good night at a good value. Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Akiva Fox. Design: Clark Huggins (set), Andrew F. Griffin (lights), Emily Otto and Israel Baline (music composers) Lynly Saunders (costumes), Cliff Williams III (fight choreographer). Cast: Seth Alcorn, Dave Daniels, Joshua Drew, Joanna Edie, Vince Eisenson, Mikal Evans, Michael Fernandez, Kevin Finkelstein, Brian Lee Huynh, Ryan Nealy, Jon Reynolds, Amanda Thickpenny, John Tweel, Cliff Williams III. |