Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Welcome to Illyria, which is the setting of “Twelfth Night” at Salve Regina University at the Black Box Megley Theatre in Newport. The audience members are invited guests to a Shakespearean celebration. First we come upon a shipwreck where twins Viola and Sebastian are separated and forced to survive on their own in a strange land. The first, Viola, falls in love with Count Orsino who in turn is in love with Olivia. However Olivia falls for Viola whose is disguised as Cesario but Olivia is also pursued by her pompous steward, Malvolio who is viewed as such because he condemns drunken revelry by her uncle Toby Belch and Sir Andrew, another one of her suitors. Later on, Sebastian appears on the scene throwing the situation into further disarray because he is the spitting image of his twin sister. Mistaken identities, gender bending antics, revelries and wild mayhem abound in this madcap Shakespearean tale written in 1601 or 1602. Director Tom Gleadow takes his college student performers and molds them into these characters of yesteryear winning them the accolades they richly deserve.
Gleadow who recently won the Broadway World Award for best supporting actor, creates many comic situations from the early shipwreck storm which first greets the audience, to the final joyful moment of this Shakespearean comedy. His former student, Julia Baroletti wrote original music for this show and it fits it like a glove. His cast has sharp comic timing and he blocks them splendidly throughout the whole stage and theatre area. Leading this cast as Viola is Kathryn Coppa. She plays the duality of the role as a woman pretending to be a man, Cesario, and captures the essence of the character wonderfully while doing it. How she disguises her voice and her walking pattern as the man leads to laugh out loud moments. Kathryn is a pretty brunette and tackles this difficult role making it crackle with power and finesse. Bradley Simpson plays the leading man, the wealthy Orsino beautifully. He commands the stage while ordering his servants around while trying to woo Olivia. However he never fully realizes that his own true love has been under his eyes this whole time while disguised as his male assistant. They both display wonderful acting ability in this complex roles. I last reviewed him as Eugene in “Brighton Beach Memoirs” in October and since then he grew a beard to portray the Count.
Vanessa Sciolto plays the lovely, Olivia while Skyler Lasit plays Viola’s twin brother Sebastian. They portray the second couple who ends up with each other at the close of the show. Vanessa displays the haughtiness of her station at the start of the show but also handles the transition to a softer more compatible woman as she falls in love with Cesario. Her wooing of Viola is hilarious and wins sustained laughter from the crowd. Her disdain for Malvolio and her later compassion for him are also handle beautifully. Skyler gives Sebastian a strong will to know what he precisely wants. He shows his prowess when he beats Toby and Andrew up when they cross him but also displays a more likable and romantic nature with his own true love, Olivia at last. They both shine in these roles as they did in “Brighton Beach Memoirs” here last year.
Sir Toby Belch and his comrades bring the comic punch to this bawdy show. Gleadow makes it even funnier by casting women as Toby and Andrew with expert make up and beards by Joe Rossi, the audience wouldn’t have known the difference. Madisyn Mugavero plays this part perfectly while stealing almost every scene she’s in. From Toby’s first entrance as a drunken lout to the final moments of merriment, Madisyn entrances and entertains one and all. She constantly swills drink after drink and hides in the garden with the fellow cohorts of merriment. She also interacts with the audience. Morgan Salpietro plays the dimwitted, clumsy, Sir Andrew who secretly loves Olivia. She has many comic moments, too especially not being able to understand words, the cowardice at the fight with Cesario and the final scene when beaten to a pulp. The talented Julia Curtin plays Feste, the fool who as in most of Shakespeare’s show is secretly the most clever one of all. Feste tricks the others into paying her off to keep him quiet and makes a tidy some from them while doing so. The fool outwits them in many laugh out loud moments. The wandering idiot of Illyria is a hoot and wins thunderous applause at her clever antics. Julia plays the ukulele and sings the original songs to the audience.
Other characters include Olivia’s servants, Fabian and Maria. Claire Noonan does a great job as the gardener who helps Toby set up Malvolio to carry out the plan to embarrass him for spoiling their drunken merriment. Jillian Tereshka also does a beautiful job as the clever maid, Maria who not only controls and runs the household but also makes the men do her bidding when dealing with the offensive, Malvolio. Danny Landino plays the hapless, Malvolio who is humorously mistreated by the comic drunks for wanting to curb their enthusiastic behavior. He starts out as a stuffy servant who is later tricked into believing Olivia has a crush on him. After many trials and tribulations he is thrown into jail and hilarity reins as all’s well that ends well except for poor Malvolio. His yellow tights with garters are hilarious. So for a terrific rendering of the Bard’s “Twelfth Night”, be sure to come down to the Black Box Theatre before time runs out. You will be able to understand everything in it without scratching your head and trying to look for the footnotes.
TWELFTH NIGHT (14 to 17 February)
Salve Regina University, Black Box Theatre, Antone Center, 56 Lawrence Ave, Newport, RI
1(401)341-2250 or web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/29095
