Farewell, Twelfth Night and Richard III, and thanks!

Today marks the last performance of the wonderful Twelfth Night, which ran in repertory with the equally astounding Richard III, both featuring Mark Rylance and a cast of super accomplished British actors. I had the wonderful luck to have seen Twelfth Night six times and Richard III twice, which means I attended the equivalent of an entire week of performances.

I wish to say thank you to the performers and musicians, as well as the myriad behind-the-scenes makeup artists and costumers, who put their lives in England on hold in many cases to move to New York City for four and a half months. It must not have been easy for them to uproot themselves, but it gave us Americans the gift of seeing these plays performed in a style that Shakespeare would have recognized if he could have popped into the Belasco theater.

And I also need to express my appreciation to the producers, who chose to make 250 seats for each performance affordable at only $27 per ticket. I had the good luck to have been seated in orchestra Row B for yesterday's Twelfth Night, and seeing it up close for the first time (having seen it previously from the balcony or upper boxes) is a theatrical experience I will never forget. I was sorry that Stephen Fry had to leave the production early in order to host the BAFTAs today, but my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the production with his worthy understudy as Malvolio. Plus, I am very happy that the show recouped its investment and played to sold-out, appreciative audiences.

My only hope is that this isn't the last we've seen of the Globe Theatre company. Please come back soon!

Updated On: 2/16/14 at 09:54 AM

Macy - six times? That's impressive! I'm so glad to hear the productions recouped their investment. Twelfth Night was one of the top two highlights of my late autumn NY trip and it would be great to see another NY transfer in the future.

I know this is a bitter-ish thing to say, but I really don't get why so many people, from here to the show's facebook and twitter pages, went to see this show so many times in it's short run. Do they not know it was filmed at the Globe and released on DVD? I can understand going two, even three times to see it live but don't really think they instituted the $27 tickets so that the same people could see it many times. It reminds me of how the Public asked audience members to only come see Shakespeare in the Park shows twice beginning this year, as unenforceable as that may be. I guess I'm just bitter that all the $27 seats were sold out and I had to order that DVD to see it for the first time.

Updated On: 2/19/14 at 11:13 AM

These were two of the best Shakespearean productions I have ever seen in my entire theatergoing life.

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I was lucky enough to see both shows on my recent trip to New York. Both are very high on my list of theater going experiences!

Part of why I think they were so successful in New York is that they remind us of the true magic of theatre. It's so much fun to watch actors deceive us into believing they are someone else, and there is no better medium than an all-male Shakespeare production. I was mystified in Twelfth Night watching Rylance and the rest of the cast work against their physical limits in creating a believable character. It was really, truly magical. A nod to the art of acting!

They will all be back in NYC for the Tony Awards. Rylance will definitely win his third Tony and possibly fourth since he will be in both leading (Richard III) and featured actor (Twelfth Night) categories. I can't wait to hear his acceptance speech!!

Updated On: 2/16/14 at 01:51 PM

I would love to see Samuel Barnett nominated for his role as Viola/Cesario in Twelfth Night (leading)! He so deserves it. What a performance!

Here's hoping these productions, at the very least, make producers look at their options when it comes to ticket pricing. I was able to see both of these productions in the $27 seats, an opportunity I'm very thankful for!

I will add my voice in favor of a Tony for Samuel Barnett. I am watching the dvd of the Globe performances, and the actor who played Viola does not seem to me to have Barnett's ability to "be" a woman playing a man. I have never in my life seen a male actor capture the feminine demeanor the way he does - the use of the eyes and hands and posture that feels inherently feminine, so that it is clear that the male role is just role playing. And equally well as Queen Elizabeth in RIII, but the Viola/Cesario challenge is so much greater.

SOOOOO sorry I couldn't get to see these. Between weather, scheduling conflicts, and a multitude of other happenings, I just couldn't make it. But I take comfort in the knowledge that these can be sellouts after all the drivel that we seem to have been stuck with. Come on, Mark, when are you going to take a crack at Lear? Or Macbeth? or Iago? Please come back soon!!!!! Congrats to all of you!!!!!!

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I do not think Rylance is quite old enough for Lear, but I would love to see him as Iago.

The cast threw roses to the audience after the reel dance, and Mark Rylance gave a very touching speech thanking NYC for being such a wonderful host city for the Globe. A perfect afternoon at the theater.

Echoing the praise for these prodductions, which I was able to see thanks to the $27 tickets. Thank you for mentioning the DVDs: I had no idea these were filmed until reading this thread, and just ordered them! (I typed "Richard III Twelfth Night DVD" into the Amazon search box on my phone and the product popped up halfway down the page.) Thank you for the mention, because now I can relive the productions, up-close this time!