`TWELFTH NIGHT: THE MUSICAL'
A play review
“Twelfth Night: the Musical,” Mendocino College's newest theatrical production, is a Broadway- inspired musical adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy, first conceived in 2016 by Kwame Kwei-Amah with songs and lyrics by Shaina Taub.
It delightfully blends Shakespeare's archaic 16th Century dialogue with modern lyrics wrapped within toe- tapping jazz numbers and heart-stirring ballads. It's a combination that makes Shakespeare, not always easily understandable to today's audiences, wonderfully accessible.
In Mendocino College's version of the play, the fictional land of Illyria is set against a New Orleans backdrop. To add to the New Orleans vibe, Director Reid Edelman has brought the band on stage, situating them under the eaves of Countess Olivia's veranda.
This brilliantly interlaces the music with the merry revelers on stage, calling to mind a lively street scene in the Big Easy. It also seamlessly weaves Feste, the Clown (Heidi Peterman), between her role as a band member, to being a part of the ensemble or as Countess Olivia's jester.
The cast includes Gwendolyn Van Wyk as Viola, who finds herself in a strange land after being shipwrecked and separated from her twin brother, Sebastian (Julian Sterling).
Thinking her brother lost at sea, Viola disguises herself as a man, Cesario, to find work as Duke Orsino's manservant.
Orsino ( Dakota Laiwa-McKay) is hopelessly in love with the Countess Olivia (Rickie Emilie Farah) but when he sends Cesario to woo her on his behalf, Olivia falls for Cesario instead.
Meanwhile, Cesario is in love with Orsino, and when Sebas
tian washes up on these same shores, he is mistaken for Cesario and caught up in this tangled web of love.
A sub plot involving Sir Toby Belch (Eduardo Lalo Torres), Olivia's uncle, Olivia's maid, Maria (Jasmine Norris), and Olivia's pompous butler, Malvolio (Carlos Amora-Mora), adds to the hilariously zany plot of mistaken identities.
Shakespeare's comedy of errors is taken to uproarious heights by songs like “Count Malvolio,” in which Malvolio expresses his grand vision of his life after marrying Olivia and becoming a Count, and sureto-be crowd pleasers like the spunky and rousing “You're the Worst” and catchy tunes such as “What Kind of Man R U Gonna Be?”
The Mendocino College cast delivers stellar performances musically and theatrically in this modernized version of Shakespeare, giving us a production that is joyous, fun, and highly entertaining.