Photos: Cat Laine
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Welcome to Illyria, the setting of and the fourth show of Gamm Theatre’s 39th Season. 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, falls in love with Olivia. However, Olivia falls for Viola, who is disguised as Cesario. Still, 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. Directors Tony Estrella and Rachel Walshe take their talented performers and mold them into the characters of yesteryear, winning them the accolades they richly deserve.
Tony and Rachel create many comic situations, from the fool greeting the audience in song to the early shipwreck storm, which the audience witnesses and comic, bawdy, and festive moments throughout the show to the final joyful moment of the cast singing at the close of this Shakespearean Comedy. This cast has sharp comic timing, and the two directors blocked them splendidly. I first reviewed “Twelfth Night,” directed by Tony, at URI in 2000. The storybook set was designed by Patrick Lynch with gorgeous costumes by David Howard and marvelous lighting by James Horban, strong sound design by Hunter Spoede, and music direction by Milly Massey. Many clever madrigals are used in this show, with the cast singing and playing musical instruments for them.
Leading this cast as Viola is Alison Russo. She plays the duality of the role of a woman pretending to be a man, Cesario. She 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 and her reactions to the chaos around her are splendid, too. Alison is a pretty brunette and tackles this difficult role, making it crackle with power and finesse. Cedric Lilly plays the wealthy Orsino beautifully. Cedric orders the servants and Cesario around while trying to woo Olivia. However, Orsino never fully realizes that his true love has been there while disguised as his male assistant. They both display wonderful acting ability in these complex roles.
Pretty brunette Donnla Hughes plays the lovely, Olivia while Michael Liebhauser plays Viola’s twin brother Sebastian. They portray the second couple who end up with each other at the show’s close. Donnla 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 later compassion for her are also handled beautifully. Michael 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. (Michael and Alison look like they could be twins, making the mistaken identity moments more believable when all is revealed.)
Sir Toby Belch and his comrades bring many laughs to this bawdy show. Kelby Akin plays this part with gusto. From his first entrance as a drunken lout to the final moments of merriment, Kelby entertains the crowd. He constantly swills drinks, steals money from Andrew, and hides all around the stage with his fellow cohorts, which are hysterically funny. Jeff Church plays the dimwitted, clumsy Sir Andrew, who secretly loves Olivia. He’s hilarious in this role, and his physical comedy is brilliant, especially in the trunk scene, which has to be seen to be believed. Other comic moments include his pratfalls, facial expressions, cowardice at the fight with Cesario, and the final scene when he is beaten to a pulp. Nora Eschenheimer is fabulous as Feste, the fool who, as in most of Shakespeare’s shows, is secretly the cleverest one of all. Feste tricks the others into paying her off to keep her quiet and makes a tidy sum from them. The fool outwits them in many laugh-out-loud moments. The wandering idiot of Illyria is a hoot as she sings, plays piano, and wins much laughter at her clever antics. Another one of her outstanding moments is when she plays three different characters when she visits Malvolio in prison.
Other characters include Olivia’s servants, Fabian and Maria. Jason Quinn 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. Rachel Dulude 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.
The funniest person in the show who steals many scenes is Deb Martin as the hapless Malvolio. The character looks like the woman in the American Gothic painting in Act 1, who is humorously mistreated by the comic drunks for wanting to curb their bad behavior. She starts out as a stuffy servant who is later tricked into believing Olivia has a crush on her. Deb’s reading of the letter supposedly written by Olivia wins sustained laughter, and she wins thunderous applause after two of her scenes here and in the second act clad in a yellow gown with yellow stockings with black garters on them. After many trials and tribulations, she is thrown into jail, and hilarity reigns as all’s well, which ends well except for poor Malvolio. Deb does a marvelous job in this role. When she transforms into this wild and crazy character in the second act, she’s like Cruella De Ville on crack.
So, for a terrific rendering of the Bard’s “Twelfth Night,” be sure to come down to Gamm 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. It is an exuberant and entertaining show. For tickets, go to their website, gammtheatre.org, or call their box office. Tell them Tony sent you.
TWELFTH NIGHT (21 March to 14 April)
GAMM Theatre,1245 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick, RI
1(401)723-4266
