BWW Reviews: Seattle Shakes Brings Fresh and Exhilarating Take on TWELFTH NIGHT

How many times have we all seen "Twelfth Night"? It is one of Shakespeare's most accessible and arguably one of his best plays and therefore one of his most often trotted out pieces. Even Seattle Shakespeare Company admits this current production is the fifth time they've done it in their 24 year history. So I'll admit to a less than enthusiastic attitude when I was off to see it. I mean, what can they do with "Twelfth Night" really? Well, apparently, they can fill it with a stupendous cast, direct it with a kind of 1920's yet otherworldly vibe, liven up all the comedy and flourish it with some hauntingly melancholy original music and turn it into a feast for the senses making this war horse once again a glittering show pony.

In what is possibly one of the world's first gender bent comedies we start with shipwrecked twins Viola and Sebastian (Allie Pratt and Christopher Morson) who each think the other has drowned. Viola washes up on the beaches of Illyria and decides to disguise herself as a boy, Cesario, so she can make her way by serving in the all male court of the Duke Orsino (Jay Myers). Now, Orsino is in love with Olivia (Elinor Gunn) but Olivia will have none of him. But when Orsino sends Cesario to woo the Lady Olivia, she ends up falling for Cesario. To make matters worse Cesario (or Viola) finds she is attracted to Orsino. Meanwhile Olivia's drunken cousin Sir Toby (Mike Dooly) wants to marry off his friend Sir Andrew (George Mount) to Olivia. But Olivia's manservant Malvolio (David Quicksall) is always in the way and hates Sir Toby. So Sir Toby along with Sir Andrew, Feste (Conner Neddersen) the court fool and Maria (Julie Briskman), Olivia's handmaid, concoct a plan to convince Malvolio that Olivia is in love with him in order to exact their revenge. Oh and if that weren't enough, Sebastian is also alive, rescued by Antonio (Joey Shaw) and now keeps getting mistaken for Cesario. Confused? See this production and you won't be.

Director Jon Kretzu has not only assembled a top notch cast but also directed them to convey every intent and story point as crystal clear as is possible and hilariously. Add into that some beautiful lighting from Kent Cubbage, a gloriously off kilter set from Andrea Bryn Bush and some striking mood/movement moments from choreographer Wade Madsen and you'd already have a winner. But then they did one better and took the lyrics of the songs in the play and put them to original music by Joey Shaw and sung by Neddersen and Shaw taking them beyond interludes in the piece and into gorgeously mesmerizing bluesy tunes one of which took the ending of the play from its usual "OK, so that happened" and into a satisfied sigh of an ending.

And then there's that wonderful cast. The love triangle between Myers, Pratt and Gunn is a thing of beauty with Gunn especially taking Olivia and infusing her with tons of comedy and emotion. The largely comedic roles from Dooly, Briskman, Mount and Neddersen plus their victim Quicksall give the absolute best performance of the scheming prank of the play that I have ever seen and their scene with the three boys in the wardrobe while they try to slip the false letter to Malvolio is worth the price of admission alone. And once again I must completely gush over the music especially that stunning final piece from Neddersen and Shaw which capped off the show perfectly and made me truly lament that Seattle Shakes wasn't selling recordings of those three musical interludes in the lobby. I mean at least put them on iTunes!

This is, by far, the best production of "Twelfth Night" I have ever experienced and I commend Kretzu and all at Seattle Shakes for putting together one of those rare pieces of theater where all the elements almost magically come together. And because I sincerely want everyone to see it I'm giving this production a well deserved WOW with my three letter rating system. It's funny, touching, evocative and an all around can't miss.

"Twelfth Night" from Seattle Shakespeare Company performs at the Center Theatre through November 16th. For tickets or information contact the Seattle Shakes' box office at 206-733-8222 or visit them online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.

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