Reviewed by Judy Richter
Director Mark Rucker pushes William Shakespeare's gender-bending envelope even
further than the Bard himself in California Shakespeare Theater's production of "Twelfth
Night." The
plot already involves a young woman playing a boy who falls in love with her
male boss, who finds himself strangely attracted to this "boy" while
employing him to woo a woman he professes to love. She wants nothing to do with
the boss, but she's very attracted to the "boy." All gets set aright
when the girl's twin brother shows up.
Rucker
casts a man, Alex Morf, to play both the sister and the brother. It's well known that boys
and men played the female roles in Shakespeare's day, but it's highly unlikely
that the boy would have played both twins. Although Rucker's idea is
intriguing, it doesn't work because Morf isn't believable in the female role of
Viola, and he doesn't differentiate her clearly enough from her brother,
Sebastian. Moreover, he wears blush and bright red lipstick in Viola's male
persona of Cesario, thus undermining Viola's attempts to appear male. The makeup
is no different for Sebastian, undermining his masculinity, too.
In
another bit of unconventional casting, Sharon Lockwood plays the male role of Malvolio,
the puritanical steward serving Olivia (the regal Dana Green), the countess courted by
Cesario on behalf of his boss. In this case, however, Lockwood successfully
portrays Malvolio as a man. In fact, she's hilarious as Malvolio is duped into
believing that Olivia loves him, then vengeful as the roisterers in Olivia's
court conspire against him.
All
of these plot lines underscore another theme in the play -- misplaced love. Yet
another example involves Sebastian's friend, Antonio (Raife Baker), whose love for Sebastian veers
into the homoerotic. The lines are in the script, but the director can choose
to interpret them as pure male friendship. Either approach works.
Rucker,
aided by his design team -- David Zinn, set; Clint Ramos, costumes; Thom Weaver, lighting; and Andre Pluess, composer/sound -- transforms the
play's Illyria into the disco era of the 1970s. He reportedly saw it as New
York's famed Studio 54 in its waning days. Thus the heavy-duty drinking
normally associated just with Olivia's uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Andy Murray), and his confreres moves over
to the household of Count Orsino (Stephen Barker-Turner), who's just as dissolute as but
less raucous than Sir Toby. It's Orsino's maudlin love for Olivia that helps to
set the plot in motion. However, his opening "If music be the food of
love" speech is delivered as a drunken ramble. Later, Orsino and other
characters also use drugs of various kinds. It's no wonder that Olivia, who
doesn't partake, wants nothing to do with him, but it's also puzzling why Viola
would fall for such a man. Luckily, Barker-Turner is a skilled enough actor to
deliver his lines clearly.
When
people talk about this production in the future, they'll recall not only Morf's
dual role as Viola and Sebastian but also Danny Scheie's audacious performance as
Feste, Olivia's fool. He first shows up in quasi-drag, roller skating and
wearing two sea shells on his chest as the entire cast sings its thanks to the
production sponsors. Another time he wears a short net dress over the
flesh-colored body suit that's the basis of his varying costumes. And no one
will forget how he starts Act 2 while roller skating through the audience and
playing "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" on the trombone. Scheie often takes his
roles over the top, but this time he's right on.
Sir
Toby's partners in tomfoolery include the foolish Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Dan
Hiatt), who also
would woo Olivia while Sir Toby takes his money. This is the kind of role where
Hiatt, a rubber-bodied, gifted comic actor, uses his talents so impressively.
Another of Sir Toby's friends is Olivia's maid, Maria (well played by Catherine
Castellanos).
Finally, there's Fabian (Liam Vincent), who inexplicably spends most of the first act in a
cage while wearing red-patterned swim trunks and pink bunny ears. Luckily he's
provided with a jacket and blanket to ward off the chilly winds in the outdoor
theater. Oh -- and he has a German accent. Howard Swain makes brief appearances as the
sea captain who rescues Viola and as the priest who presides over the marriage
of Olivia and Sebastian. He also plays guitar as part of a small combo at
various points in the play.
There's
no denying that this production can be absolutely hilarious at times, but it
falls short in some key areas, especially with casting a man as both Viola and
Sebastian and with making Orsino so dissolute.
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