• the217
• Stage
• "Twelfth Night’s" barefoot cast wows audience & joyously splashes them with water

Related Media

Guest director Josie Roarke, of London’s Bush Theatre, crafted a unique wooden crate-like stage set for 'Twelfth Night'.

• See Slideshow (4 images)

Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night" has been noted by many literary scholars as his one truly happy comedy, where almost no one suffers any great tragedies. There are mistaken identities, courting, love-making, doses of unrequited love, separated siblings and goofy, dimwitted, pompous fools -- all set in the mythical land of Illyria. What sets this present production of "Twelfth Night" apart from the many of this much produced Shakespearean classic is its unique production design and a cast of incredibly skilled and truly funny American actors of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater company.

Guest director Josie Roarke, of London’s Bush Theatre, crafts a simply splendid recreation of this comedy inventively set on a large wooden crate-like stage set, with a thrust stage that has a pier shaped walk way over a huge pool of water. Setting the story of the separated siblings Viola and Sebastian, and the crossed loves of Orsinio, the Duke of Illyria, and Olivia, a lovely countess, blending in the silly antics of Sir Toby Belch and court fool Feste, and Sir Andrew Aguechek, over a body of water creates all sorts of hilarious entrances and exits, including the usual sorts of pratfall laughs. Audience members in the first several rows are routinely splashed by the cast’s playful antics (all in fun, and towels were provided to dry off).

Designer Lucy Osbourne’s impressively simple, but imaginative set provides a sparse, fresh setting for audiences to focus mostly on the exceptional comedic performances of the cast. Scott Jaeck, Ross Lehman and Larry Yando, regular members of the Chicago Shakespeare repertory, give near career best performances as the hilarious Sir Toby, Feste and the pomp and stuffy Malvolio, respectively. Michelle Beck’s Viola, who spends most of the play disguised as the boyish Cesario, is spritely and energetically cheery. Roarke’s cast uniformly handles the bard’s diction, witty cadences and various levels of humor, from the most bawdy to the most subtle double entendres, with the swiftest skill.