#1
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!!!
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!!!
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