Twelfth Night Review

[jarred03]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 12:40pm

So, we finally went to see Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. For those of you who don't know, you can get free tickets for Shakespeare in the Park by getting up at 4am so you can get there by 6 am and wait in a line in the rain and mud until 1pm when they finally start handing out tickets. And that is exactly what we did yesterday. Well, it was all completely worth it because the show was absolutly amazing. Probably the best play I've ever seen live, definitly the best Shakespeare I've seen.

One thing I loved is that the theater is outside, which posed a problem at first because it was raining heavily in NYC at 7pm when the show started at 8, luckily it stopped and the show went on. Although we did have to steal toilet paper from the bathrooms to dry off our seats, haha. Anyway, I loved the theater being outside because the play is set mostly in the woods so the stage was all grass with hills and trees it was great, and it melded beautifully with the natural skyline and trees of the park. Plus birds flew through to add to the ambience and there was some great breezes blowing at very oppurtune times in the play. It all added up to a magical night. The one problem was the planes and helicopters overhead, but Anne said they don't usually have or hear as many as last night, must've been due to the storm.
I loved all the actors. They were really all on the top of their game, and you have to be with Shakespeare. My favorites were Hamish Linklater as Andrew Aguecheek, Jay O. Sanders(Ziggy on Roseanne) as Sir Toby Belch, and Julie White(the mom in Transformers) as Maria. The three of them pulled off some comedic brilliance that I've never seen on stage. They played there foolish, blundering, and even sneaky characters off so silly and realistic at the same time that even if you didn't understan the Shakespeare text you could still understan what they were saying and then laugh your ass off because they made it so funny. My praise of these three does not take anything away from the other leads, because everybody was great and had some fantastic moments on stage. Any scene where Audra MacDonald was pining for Anne Hathaway was played off brilliantly between the two and had me laughing a clapping riotously. David Pittu as Feste was a real treat, with his compelling singing, his sharp tongued wit, and his impersonations skills all showcased through out the show he was definitly a crowd pleaser. Raul Esparza who is known for his singing more than his acting gave a solid performance as Orsino but his character is much more subdued and boring than the rest of the characters.
The music of the show was great they had a nice ensemble playing old renessaince music through out the scenes and on stage they doubled as Feste's entourage of fools and really added to the show in so many ways. My favorite music moment is when Feste sing a song for the Duke(Raul) and his boy(Anne) and the song was very beautiful and moving and when Raul and Anne join in towards the end, it was truly a great musical moment the touched me deeply.
The Lighting was okay, nothing special and they needed a better use of the lighting for when the sun went down and it got darker out side it should've stayed lighter on stage. It was hard to see stuff for a couple minutes.

Seeing this production made me realize a couple things. First that Jason Radalin(my college professor) was right, that you don't need to play Shakespeare so grand and over the top with ridiculous grand gestures for no reason(as most theater theachers teach in high schools and college). The more realistic you play your character with real motivations and actions the easier the audience will understand it and fall in love with it. The second thing is that if you want your kids to do well in English class in high school and college take them to see Shakespeare plays while they are younger. I hated Shakespeare just reading it in class, it's quite long wided and boring on the page, but after being in Romeo and Juliet, seeing Midsummer's Nights Dream at UAlbany, and now seeing Twelfth Night I truly realize the genius of Shakespeare and see how and why everybody loves it. I can't wait to see Othello in September now.

If you get the chance go see this production running until July 12th at the Delecorte Theater in Central Park, it's worth the long wait in line for tickets.BTW, we did see David Hyde Pierce(Niles from Frasier) and he totally snubbed us and just ran off, that was LAAAAMMMEEEE!!!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 12:54pm

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

That's all I have to say.

[jamoca5]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 2:51pm

Aw, too bad I won't be in NYC at that time, it sounds great.

You said most of the play is set in the woods? Is this some new take on the director's part, or have I been reading 12th Night wrong the whole time? (I thought Illyria was an island)

~Ash was here

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 2:54pm

Illyria is an island. The set is grass, hills and trees.

[blaxx]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 2:58pm

and Julie White(the mom in Transformers) as Maria

That's my favorite part

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 3:18pm

Jamoca, there is absolutely NOTHING new about Sullivan's production.

[jamoca5]

Posted: 7/3/09 at 9:00pm

Oh, okay. Thanks. I never realized it was set in a wooded area. Sweet.

~Ash was here

[scott68]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 2:14am

The performances in the production are almost universally phenomenal. The staging, as a previous reviewer commented, would fit well in a traditional Broadway theater, but don't seem to fit in the Delacorte.

That said, I would like nothing better than to see this show every night in a Broadway theater. I can't think of a single element besides Malvolio's performance that I wouldn't love to see over and over again.

[acd114]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 8:03am

I'm new to the Shakespeare in the Park experience... if I wanted to get tickets for tomorrow night's performance, would 7am be early enough to be in line? (I'm coming in from CT) or do you think it would just be better to get in the stand by line around 3pm or so? (all the while having my name in the virtual line of course!) Thanks for the info!

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 8:39am

RE: comment about Raul being more well-known for his work in musicals than straight plays. Aren't you forgetting The Normal Heart (he was heart-rending in that one); The Homecoming; and, most of all, the revival of Speed-the-Plow this season, in which he walked away with the show. One of the joys of this guy is that he moves easily between musicals and non-musicals, a point that he has demonstrated over and over during the past ten years. It breaks my heart that I won't be able to see his Orsino, but maybe some other Shakespeare looms in his future.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 9:54am

I was going to say. I think at this point, he's "known" for his (rather rare level of) versatility. What you personally know him better for tends to depend on what you pay attention to.

I hope he'll do Shakespeare again, and soon.

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 10:26am

Petruchio!

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 10:39am

Iago!!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 10:41am

Iago is probably in the top five of roles I want him to play.

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 11:06am

Richard III!
But dear god, WHAT an Iago he'd make!

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 11:32am

I wish he were Iago to Seymour Philip Hoffman's Othello!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 11:34am

Philip Seymour Hoffman is playing Iago.

Updated On: 7/4/09 at 11:34 AM

[wonkit]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 2:41pm

You can tell I'm not reading the fine print in the ads! (I'm old enough to remember Olivier in black face as Othello - and every white tenor at the MET - so I didn't assume anything.)

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 10:49pm

Esparza would be a FIERCE Iago. PLEASE, God, let that happen in my lifetime!

And not quite strictly on the subject, but wouldn't he be great in Marlowe's Edward II? Probably wont happen, but, if it did, I would be infuriated if it was played by anyone but Esparza.

I've had the good fortune to see some of the best -- Gielgud, Olivier, O'Toole, MacKellan, Richardson -- and, as far as I'm concerned, Esparza belongs right up there.

Updated On: 7/4/09 at 10:49 PM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 11:11pm

I think at this point, he's "known" for his (rather rare level of) versatility.

What is this, Datalounge?

jarredO3, just out of curiosity, was this cross-posted to a personal blog or journal? Parts seemed a bit patronizing for an exclusively BWW audience.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/4/09 at 11:55pm

Yes.

Ed - Edward II was one of the first things that popped into mind when people started listing parts, but I refrained because it wasn't Shakespeare. That is one of my favorite plays, and one of, IMO, theater's most fascinating roles. (I'm totally crazy about the 1991 film adaptation, but I digress.)

[humbugfoto]

Posted: 7/5/09 at 12:41am

Not Shakespeare, but (as I sit here watching the movie) does anyone else think Raul would make a stunning John Adams in 1776?

[jarred03]

Posted: 7/5/09 at 1:32am

When I first heard of Raul it was for musicals. Everybody made it out like he was one of the greatest singers ever on broadway, so I assumed he was more of a musicals person. I did know that he had done other straight plays in the past and obviously nominated for a Tony, but I pointed that out because 1) as Orangeskittles asked, this was also posted on my facebook and alot of people on my facebook have cast recordings with him on it and 2) because all the greatness I've heard about I was rather underwhelmed by his performance, but I don't blame him because there's not alot of great stuff for the character in comparison to all the other characters, but he was in no way bad.

And sorry Orangeskittles, but I was not trying to patronize anybody I just need to give my other friends and family some reference points. Most theater fans would know Julie from The Little Dog Laughed not Transformers, haha.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/5/09 at 1:45am

It's the role. He's beautiful with Shakespeare's language, but because Sullivan's interpretation of the play is so safe and by-the-book, there's not much room to really grab the bull by the horns, to so speak, with Orsino. I certainly miss seeing Raul sing when he does straight plays because his voice is so expressive, but he can be just as much a powerhouse in a straight play as he can in a musical. If this is the first thing you've seen him in, give him another shot.

[jarred03]

Posted: 7/5/09 at 2:01am

I will definitly give him a second chance because like I said he did a good job there just wasn't alot to do with the character.