The Off-Broadway Theatre Review: Axis Company‘s Twelfth Night
By Dennis W.
You hear it from people all of the time, “I don’t like William Shakespeare. His plays are too hard to understand.” They are probably more familiar with his tragedies with dramatic robust plots like Hamlet, King Lear, or Macbeth. I have a suggestion that they try one of his comedies. The Axis Theatre Company is presenting a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at its theater at One Sheridan Square in the West Village that just might change their minds. The adaption by Marc Palmieri ( Axis, Levittown, Playwright) runs just about 90 minutes instead of the play’s usual running time of two and a half hours and is a perfect rendition of the twists and turns of this wonderful comedy. Twelfth Night celebrates the revelries in Elizabethan England which come 12 days after Christmas and one day before the Epiphany which is the perfect title for Shakespeare to use for this screwball comedy of errors.
The ensemble company brings the story of love, disguises, misidentification, and comic turns to life as if it were a contemporary play. There is no “Shakespearean acting” to get in the way. The cast delivers their lines in a conversational way making the story easy to follow and easily engages the audience. The plot seems convoluted but as it comically unfolds on stage it is not difficult to follow and shows how Shakespeare can write a happy ending.
Played out like a Georgian garden party, Twelfth Night begins when a set of fraternal twins, Viola and Sebastian, are separated during a shipwreck and although each survives they believe the other is dead. It’s a rather grim beginning for a comedy but Shakespeare wastes no time turning the tables on his unsuspecting characters. Sebastian lands in the household of Antonio who fished him out of the sea and the two become fast friends. Viola disguises herself as a man, Cesario, to search for her missing brother hoping he may be alive. Meanwhile, he/she gets a job with Duke Orsino. Cersario (Viola) is trusted to carry messages to Oliva professing the Duke’s undying love and gets caught in a love triangle when Olivia falls for Cersario (Viola) forsaking Orsino.
Feste played by Spencer Aste (Cliplight Theatre’s Wake Up) is the resident fool of this Shakespearean comedy and as the fool has leeway to cross boundaries with his mistress Olivia that would stop most people. Aste skillfully weaves his way through the plot at the expense of some others. Feste’s partner in crime is Sir Toby Belch played by George Demas (Axis’ Washington Square) who revels in playing the loud drunk and whose carousing disrupts Olivia’s household trying to get her to marry his choice. Widow Olivia, played by Katy Frame (New York Musical Theatre Festival’s Somewhere With You), displays just the right amount of pompousness and self-importance as she rebuffs the Duke but has eyes for his messenger. Cesario/Viola, played by Britt Genelin (Axis’ Washington Square), does a nice job playing the slip of a man Cesario with a wisp of a mustache and beard. It is obvious Viola is uncomfortable playing Cesario and, at times, humorously moves like a large-sized toddler. Cesario’s deep bow, unlike any other character, adds to the awkwardness of Viola’s gender switch to Cesario.
Director Randall Sharp (Axis’ Dead End) intricately brings Twelfth Night to life with no set except for a wooden grey background that opens for actors to enter and exit the stage. Using every part of the small stage, her fluid direction of the cast allows them to drift across the stage lending an air of fantasy to the productions. Costume designer Karl Ruckdeschel (Axis’ Dead End) impeccably dressed the cast in Georgian-era styles that are not lavish or flashy but are just enough to enhance the air of formality in Shakespeare’s play. I wish each costume had a little more unique detail to help differentiate the characters. Music by Paul Carbonara on guitar (Musical Director for Blondie) with Yonatan Gutfeld on cello/piano adds an air of completion to the production.
The Axis Theatre Company’s production of Twelfth Night is a delightful way to spend 90 minutes in the theatre. The ensemble cast is up to the task of making Shakespeare more accessible without losing any of his mastery. No one should be intimidated by this production as it welcomes you into a fantasy world where reality is checked at the door. The Axis Theatre Company production of Twelfth Night plays at the Axis Theatre, One Sheridan Square, Wednesday – Saturday through May 25. Click here for tickets and further information.