PCPA Presents Shakespeare's Most Popular Comedy, TWELFTH NIGHT

Coming to the Marian Theatre August 16 and 19 and Solvang Festival Theater August 24 - September 10 is PCPA's production of Shakespeare's romantic comedy Twelfth Night.

In the household of Olivia, two campaigns are being quietly waged, one by the lovesick Lord Orsino against the heart of the indifferent Olivia; the other by an alliance of servants and hangers-on against the high-handedness of their steward, the pompous Malvolio. When Orsino engages the cross-dressed Viola to plead with Olivia on his behalf, a bittersweet chain of events follows. Filled with a cast of unforgettable characters, Shakespeare's laugh-filled Twelfth Night combines low pranks with high comedy and the pangs of unrequited love with sublime poetry and exquisite songs.

Twelfth Night is directed by Roger DeLaurier, Fight Choreographer is Peter S. Hadres, Scenic Designer and Costume Designer is Arnold Bueso, Lighting Designer is Jennifer 'Z' Zornow, Sound Designer is Andrew Mark Wilhelm, Composer is Elisabeth Weidner, and Stage Manager is Lauren Snook.

The cast includes Sarah Hollis as Viola, Gerrad Alex Taylor as Sebastian, Timothy Paul Brown as Duke Orsino, Karin Hendricks as Olivia, Polly Firestone Walker as Maria, Andrew Philpot* as Malvolio, Erik Stein* as Sir Toby Belch, George Walker as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Satchel Andre as Antonio.

Director DeLaurier has decided to set the mythical coastal kingdom of Illyria on the Dalmatian Coast along the Adriatic Sea in the era of the Cavalier period in 1645. "You have these wonderful blends of baroque architecture merging with an Eastern Ottoman flair resulting in an interesting mix of East and West with ornate details and mosaic patters," DeLaurier explained. Setting in Dalmatia works well with the story which requires a seaside locale with a bit of the exotic and fantastic.

DeLaurier believes some of the funniest scenes in all of Shakespeare's comedies are in this play, including the duel between Viola and Sir Andrew, and the gulling of Malvolio. "His is one of the hardest journeys anyone takes in the comedies. He has a vain, overblown idea about himself, and he has to come down to earth and get a more realistic perspective about the world and who he is."

Costume Designer Arnold Bueso said that applying the Cavalier period to the costumes fits with the themes. "In applying this period to Twelfth Night costumes, we looked at the play's more whimsical themes: romance and courtship, swashbuckling knights, donning a disguise and living a double life, comedic battle of the sexes, and darker themes like grief and loss, gender identity, and the debate between Malvolio's puritanism and Sir Toby's desire to "seize the day", which was a Cavalier tenet very popular at the time." Bueso said.

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