Oak Park Festival Theatre Presents TWELFTH NIGHT or What You will on its 50th

Austin Gardens, the site for Oak Park Festival Theatre’s summer programming is framed by tall trees, state of the art facilities and walking paths dotted with benches. In the center, a clearing carpeted in soft grass practically begs for picnickers. This is where OPFT places their stage. For this production of Twelfth Night or What You Will, Scenic Designer Evan Frank produced a lovely, blue island for Illyria that had all the windows, doors and crannies one could hope for, and was laden with more and more plants and green things as the show carried on.

Theater in the park is a time-honored tradition in cities all over this country, and Oak Park, unsurprisingly, does it to good natured, tranquil and crystal clean perfection. Couple the park with OPFT’s new, state of the art lighting grid that is as beautiful as it is green and the scenery alone is worth the night out. The sound system is also of an uncommonly high quality for outdoor theater. But what of the play itself?

For its fiftieth season, Artistic Director Peter G. Anderson chose a favorite for many (me included): Twelfth Night. The play was written around the year 1600, to commemorate the Elizabethan English, Catholic holiday of Candlemass, the day that closes the Christmas season. The plot, involving lots of mistaken identity and ridiculous costumes, is lifted in part from the holiday itself, which was a topsy turvy festival when servants would dress up as their masters, men and women in the opposite gender’s clothing, etc, and everyone would eat, drink and sing their way out of the holy season.

The story of Twelfth night begins with VIOLA (Ama Kuwonu) a young woman recently shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria. She had been traveling with her twin brother, SEBASTIAN (Noah Lash) who she presumes drowned. In order to keep herself safe and possibly find a way off the island, she disguises herself as a young man named Cesario, and is quickly hired by the island’s Lord, DUKE ORSINO (Evan Ozer) who is hopelessly in love with a beautiful noblewoman, OLIVIA (Madison Kiernan). Orsino hires Viola/Cesario to help him woo Olivia, who has shut herself up at home after the loss of her own brother, and has rejected Orsino’s proposals of marriage.

Focusing on the shared grief of the two leading ladies, director Anderson adds a new scene at the opening of the play: the funeral of Olivia’s brother. After that, the play moves along as it normally does, and we are soon introduced to the “mechanicals” of this play:  SIR TOBY BELCH ( the excellent Kevin Theis) Olivia’s cousin and a notorious drunken partier, MARIA (a shining Julia Rowley) Olivia’s smart, capable handmaid, SIR ANDREW AGUECHEEK ( a lovably dense J Cody Hunt) as well as FABIAN (an unexpectedly hilarious Kason Chesky) another servant in the house, and FESTE (the affable Elijah Newman) Olivia’s professional Fool – and minstrel. Then of course, there is the foil: MALVOLIO, played to a pompous “T” by Josh Carpenter. As usual, it is their scenes that are the biggest crowd pleasers, and they play to the audience with unabashed fun. Theis’ Sir Toby is a smart guy who chooses to grift and party mostly because he can. Theis walks the fine line between total jerk and lovable con artist perfectly. You get the impression that if someone gave him a reason to do more than party, he’d take it, but no one’s had an argument strong enough against it (yet). Hunt’s Sir Andrew has a boisterous physicality that is perfect for the role. Chesky holds his own with the smaller role of Fabian with a talent for physical comedy. He is present at every moment, reacting to the chaos around him with genuine, and hilarious, fear. Rowley’s Maria was another standout, her Maria is an intelligent, self-possessed young woman filled with equal parts affection and admonishment for her fellows. Rowley infuses Maria with a likable, exasperated charm that takes some of the mean edge off her prank.

As is often the case in a comedy, the romantic leads have a much harder job. Ozer’s Orsino pines dramatically over Olivia, with poetry, music and general Emo-behavior, while Viola pines, much more anxiously, over him. Meanwhile, Kiernan’s Olivia has a sorority girl vibe that immediately gets you thinking she and Orsino wouldn’t be a good match regardless. Olivia falls for Kuwonu’s “Cesario,” who can talk to her without the over-dramatic poetry, or stammering on about her beauty. One interesting choice was a new moment between Orsino and “Cesario” that builds the tension between them well and introduces some confusion into Orsino’s confidence in his feelings for Olivia. This helps with his later change of heart.

There were moments of weakness. Sebastian’s sudden acceptance of his new wife is as surprising as usual but given an extra layer of confusion based on some of the scenes between him and Nathan Hile’s slightly incongruous Antonio – the only character dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. One gets the impression that Sebastian is up for anything, or anyone, at any moment. The mics were in the floor of the stage, which meant everyone could be heard clearly, but most of the actors were projecting as if there were no mics. While this worked well when the sound cut out for a few moments, it often meant that they were “projecting” into a speaker uncomfortably close to the audience’s ears. This, and some of the musical pieces, made me wonder if the performers had a monitor that was working well for them – one got the impression that they could not necessarily hear themselves.

That said, it was a lovely night, and the audience had a wonderful time. A special mention should go to Movement Choreographer Margo O’Connell, the physical comedy was especially well done – a must in Shakespeare. For example, the scenes where Carpenter’s Malvolio reads the letter suggesting he wear “yellow stockings and cross garters” and the one in which he wears said outfit, had the audience laughing uproariously. The ensemble worked together seamlessly in a tightly choreographed, comedic dance and Malvolio’s attempt to seduce Olivia was a feat of over the top, physical clownery.

This show is appropriate for families, and the facilities are perfect for an evening picnic. There aren’t many better ways to spend a summer evening.

Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

The Oak Park Festival Theatre stage is at: Austin Gardens, 167 Forest Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302

July 5 – August 16. Schedule: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 7 p.m.; Wednesday performances on July 9, July 23, and August 6 at 8 p.m.

Tickets: General Admission: $40; children under 12 free. Discounts available for seniors and students. Group rates available for groups of 10 or more. Pay What You Will at any Wednesday or Thursday performance (walk-ups only). Box Office: www.oakparkfestival.com

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.