Talk about "Twelfth Night"
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Post a comment and tell us your thoughts about our production of Twelfth Night.
Above photo: Samantha Soule as Viola. Photo by Scott Suchman.
Post a comment and tell us your thoughts about our production of Twelfth Night.
Above photo: Samantha Soule as Viola. Photo by Scott Suchman.
Labels: Rebecca Bayla Taichman, Samantha Soule, Shakespeare, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sidney Harman Hall, Twelfth Night
posted by Shakespeare Theatre Company at 10:26 AM
54 Comments:
Generally an excellent production. Staging is very good, set design outstanding and overall acting is extremely good. Certainly the best Shakespeare production in DC this year, maybe longer. Malvolio, Feste and others are excellent. Orsino shouts a good deal at the expense of acting, but does not detract much. The biggest weakness is Olivia, who simply does not know how to perform Shakespeare, and recites almost every line with the same cadence and intonation. Her bio suggests that this may be her first Shakespeare performance and perhaps it should be her last. But this is not a deal-breaker. Overall, its a fine production, far better than recent (and frankly disappointing) productions by the Shakespeare Theater Company.
I saw the play last night and made a mental note never, for the rest of my lifetime, to miss any production that rebecca taichman directs. It was a mesmerizing play--the actors all superb, the music and settings and costumes coming together to capture the magic of this most magical, sad, and romantic play. I had goosebumps during Feste's closing soliloquy/song, and left full of desire that Orsino carry me away...
I would like to comment on the theater. It's beautiful, but we had seats on the mezz and couldn't understand the actors at all due to a slight echo. It was terrible! At intermission we found empty seats on the main floor and it was a completely different--- and enjoyable --- experience, because the language was then clear as a bell. I think you need to have all plays in the old theater.
Visually stunning! I brought two students who are directing a Midsummer's Night Dream and they had a blast. We loved the final surprise.
Was wondering where the title "Twelfth Night" came from. I appreciate the opportunity to attend a preview which enabled me to bring students and friends. I think I spotted Miss Manners (Judith Martin) in the lobby!
I enjoyed it! For my full review, see the post at purplemotes.net
I enjoyed the show, and echo the sentiments that the staging, lighting and basic set pieces were all first rate. The costumes were amazing. The performances in most cases were outstanding, especially Floyd King as Feste. I was sitting in the mezzanine , and his facial expressions seemed very natural and never forced. He simply was the brightest star.
From an acoustical/technical standpoint - there was indeed a small echo in the mezz. I thought a great deal of the lines were spoken during sharp, almost 90-degree angle blocking. This seemed to affect Ted Van Griethuysen as Malvolio the most, as his character had a lot of lateral movement on stage. Several of his lines were almost undecipherable for those of us sitting in the cheap seats.
Otherwise, a fantastic show!
just loved it! great job! excellent performance!
Definitely the strongest production of this years season and another outstanding production by Ms. Taichman as director. I am a bit surprised that the Shakespeare Theatre is not doing more to give credit and publicity to the rest of the creative team. The costumes and set design in this show are beautiful and yet we see and hear almost nothing from the people who have done this work. Why aren’t Riccardo Hernandez, Miranda Hoffman, Christopher Akerlind given more mention? Shame on the Shakespeare Theatre for not support their work.
I saw it today, and just wanted to comment that Samantha Soule was excellent as Viola.
This was far and away the best and funniest Twelfth Night I've seen—full of all the graces, not the least of which is impeccable comic timing. In this regard I am pleased and amused to note I found Olivia's performance delightful, notwithstanding any perceived deficiencies in delivering the language. Olivia's transformation from grieving sister to helpless inamorata must be immediate, inexorable, and unapologetic. Veanna Cox's demeanor in the role is perfect—unflinchingly smitten yet grandly dignified, even when out-bowing Viola/Cesario right down to the ground. The rest of Olivia's household were likewise excellent: several folks have here rightly lauded Floyd King and Ted van Griethuysen as Feste and Malvolio, respectively, but props must be shared with Rick Foucheux as Sir Toby, Tom Story as Sir Andrew, and especially Nancy Robinette's Mariah, whose wicked glee in undoing Malvolio is infectious and irrefutable.
Absolutely fantastic! Best production so far this season and one of the best plays I've seen in quite a while. Playful, artistic, and passionate. Every member of the cast was truly excellent - I can't encourage you enough to go see it. A bit "saucy" at times but true life always is.
Great job, lots of medieval mirth with some jarring modern nuances thrown in -- Malvalio on a bike, hearts falling whenever there was "romance in the air", making it literal.
We had three separated seats in row B, C, D because we will never sit in the mezzanine again for Shakespeare. Last year our season tickets were often up there - totally could not hear and felt left out. Stage all your Shakespeare at the Lansburgh if you want happy customers!
Congrats on a great Twelfth Night!
Doing Shakespeare requires most of all actors with good diction, who can "speak the speech trippingly upon the tongue." Neither Olivia nor Viola were able to do so. Olivia in particular, however beautiful she may be, spoke in something like a high-pitched bark. Viola was not much better, though not as high pitched. Of the men, only Malvolio and Feste were really good. I was disappointed
I agree with the comment about the difficuty of understanding Olivia. Orsino's opening speech and lines that followed were also difficult. We enjoyed the performance very much, but actors must speak more clearly if they are to be understood.
We've been attending Shakespeare Theater productions with friends since the time the company was performing at the Folger Theater on Capitol Hill. We all agree this version of Twelfth Night was one of the top ten productions we have seen over the years. As always, Floyd King alone is worth the price of admission. We plan to attend another performance with our daughter when she returns from college this weekend.
12-19-08
I could not disagree more with those who say Ms. Cox failed as Olivia. She succeeded admirably at a very tough part - as one other commenter pointed out, she has to go from complete grief to utter delirium in about a second. I felt that she infused the role with verve and energy. She didn't waste a gesture or a step.
The other actors deserve praise too, of course, and I think there were quite a few notable performances - Feste, of course, but also Orsino and the emotive Viola.
I do agree that there were some acoustical problems, especially in the beginning - Malvolio's first few lines were almost indecipherable. (ALMOST.) Could this have had to do with the dramatic set?
I don't understand how anyone could say they were "disappointed" by this production. It was, at minimum, dazzling; I also found it to be emotionally powerful and engaging.
Thank you for a wonderful performance. This was our very first visit to the Sidney Harmon Hall and what a nice experience. Over all the performance was great. I really enjoyed the Fool and Cesario, the others were a bit hard to hear/understand. I liked the Orchestra on the balcony to the side, a nice unique concept!
Overall great experince, looking forward to the next play that I will come to see.
My wife, 9-year-old son and I saw the show on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed it greatly. I was our son's first exposure to a full Shakespeare show, and Twelfth Night -- this performance, in particular -- was a great first show. We prepared him well (watched the animated version, read the Shakespeare for Kids version, read some of Charles and Mary Lamb's summary), and it paid off. He understood most of the show, and really appreciated the whole Malvolio shtick. And he suspended disbelief and went with the flow and pretended that Viola/Cesario and Sebastian looked alike! On the whole we all loved the show and all the performances -- especially Floyd King who is always so amazing!
While I disagree strongly with those here who were dissatisfied with Veanne Cox’s Viola – I think she did a splendid job – I was most taken by the performances of Floyd King, as Feste, and Ted van Griethuysen, as Malvolio. They are easily two of the finest comic actors I’ve ever seen onstage. Usually I don’t much notice costumes, but the ones from this show were outstanding. Finally, after seeing her Shrew, I made sure to remember director Rebecca Taichman’s name. Now I will be certain not to miss any local production she’s associated with.
Great production. Congrats to the fine cast, superb direction and well-realized costumes.
Couple of quibbles: radio mic for Malvolio in 'madhouse' scene was faulty (12/20 eve), producing distortion throughout the entire scene. Also, in general, would have more enjoyed less background vocals and fewer petals. (Nice idea over-used.)
Great first experience at STC & Harmon. Will highly recommend the show, company & venue!
I've not got the program in front of me, but whoever played Feste owned. Hard. Very funny, by the far the best on the stage, I thought. His voice isn't half bad, either.
The sound was horrible in the mezz. It was beautiful to see, but with the echos we only understood every-other word, making the production agonizingly long. Don't think I would attend any event in this theater on the mezz. level again.
This was my first time attending a production at the Shakepeare Theatre Comapny in DC. I was delighted to find this to be a magical and hilarious production. Set design and lighting were fabulous and really created an amazing backdrop for telling the story. Clearly this caset brought Shakespeare comedy to life. Veanne Cox was perfect as Olivia and Samatha Soule delivered warmth and humor. But in terms of comedy Tom Story as Sir Andrew and his bawdy team of reverlers had me belly laughing. Incredible. I took my whole family and the paly was enjoyed from 11 years old to tennagers and college age kids. What a wonderful evening and great production. I will be back to see this company again!
Great show. Set pieces caused an echo here and there, particularly with Sebastian and Antonio. Olivia read every line with the same intonation, sounding somewhat robotic and losing the cadence of the text. Theater is beautiful, but the staff was fussy and the intermission was too brief.
I had the opportunity to finally see Shakespeare's romantic comedy Twelfth Night (Or What You Will) tonight from Row D Center. I thought what better work by "The Bard" than one named after the Twelfth Night holiday of the Christmas season, marking the coming of the Epiphany!
A very solid yet playful production by Rebecca Bayla Taichman with amazing set and costume designs that mesh well, visually stunning overall. Accolades to the cast and the musicians for an excellent job and memorable Tuesday evening. Artistic and passionate, especially with the rose petals falling to the stage floor when romance was dancing in the air!
Samantha Soule (Viola/Cesario) and Veanne Cox (Olivia) did a fantastic job for capturing the warmth, magic and romantic revelry of two women that start out in a deep state of mourning and repression that eventually find release, love and delirium. The characters' lives were similar in that both were filled with contradictions. There was a fire and spark in each actress' performance.
Floyd King (Feste the fool), Christopher Innvar (Orsino), Rick Foucheux (Sir Toby Belch) and Tom Story (Sir Andrew Aguecheek) provided very memorable performances and humorous moments throughout the evening. Floyd King's portrayal of the jester was very notable with the comedic timing to mock everyone alike, never missing the chance to jab at their plights of extreme love and despair while always seeing reality for what it is rather than an idealized image. He was truly a jester with the wit and the musical vocals. Great job!
A gem of a Shakespeare production for this year. I definitely plan to see this live-stage production again and would highly recommend it for everyone to see!
My wife, son, and daughter enjoyed the 12-23-08 performance of "Twelfth Night." The theatre is beautiful. When will you stage "King Lear" next year?
My first experience watching a Shakesphere play and unfortunately it's not my cuppa tea. Additionally the seats in FF were very uncomfortable for my back which distracted me and it was extremely difficult to hear up in the nosebleed section. Thank you.
A solidly good and funny show, but a little disappointing after Bayla Taichman's glorious The Taming of the Shrew last year.
Malvolio, Orsino, and Feste are fantastic, and the others are very good. (Although Viola shakes her head a lot, and Olivia seems to warm to the role over time). I want to praise Orsino and Sebastian for great performances of roles that often get a bit ignored. The rose petals are sometimes inspired and highly effective and sometimes feel unecessary and distracting.
But overall, this is a fun and a moving show, definitely worth seeing, and I'm comparing it to one that absolutely blew me away. Bayla Taichman is a great director and I hope to see more of her work at The Shakespeare Theatre in the future.
And the costuming is well done.
Whole production a visual and artistic treat. Stunning staging, use of rose petals for love, the floating dress fabrics in rich colors, lighting in opening drowning scene and others, the musicians and the dramatization of emotions all added to wonderful portrayals. Love the physical humor of Malvolio and Olivia, the vocal craft of Flloyd King, the subtle differences in gender portrayal by Viola/Cesario, and the addition of the whole cast, made this the best performance I've seen of Shakespeare perhaps ever. Bravo. We're coming back. Marty and Jenny
Wonderful production. Sexual amiguity masterfully handled. Ted van Griethuysen is the best, portliest, most unctuous Malvolio ever. Entire cast good, though a few could use some elocution lessons.
We saw the performance on Saturday, 12/27/08, and sat in the last row of the highest balcony. The acoustics were so awful that I actually thought there were sound problems AND that Malvolio was mumbling. After a few more actors spoke, I realized that the sound was distorted for the whole performance. I moved to an empty seat near the front, was able to enjoy a delightful comedy. STC, you should be ashamed to take money for those seats! (And even if you give them away to theatre students, give them with a warning.)
Saw the show today. I thought it was very enjoyable.
I thought the actresses playing Olivia and Viola were excellent. Also excellent, the casting for Viola and Sebastian--I didn't really have to "suspend" belief . . . they looked enough like brother and sister for it to be believable.
The only negative for me was somehow the chemistry between Malvolio and Sir Toby. I ended up feeling sorry for Malvolio. In other productions, it seemed like he deserved the ill treatment . . . in this one, I liked Malvolio better than Sir Toby, so . . .
As always, STC did an excellent job with Twelth Night. I'm not an authority on Shakepeare, though I did study a number of the plays in college, but the STC players did not disappoint me. Samantha Soule's is to be commended for her outstanding on stage persona and representation of Viola, and Floyd King and Tom Story kept the stage alive all evening. Congratulations to all on a job well done.
I thought the production was wonderful. Visually mesmerizing and the acting was great. I've seen a few negative comments regarding Olivia's performance. I just wanted to say that while her delivery was somewhat robotic, I thought it was a deliberate part of her character. And she was so very funny. Her timing, her delivery...I really believe it was intended to be humorous and it worked. The first scene she plays with Cesario comes to mind, but there were many lines that I loved. I do not think Olivia's performance should be cast aside so lightly.
All in all, it was so very wonderful!
I took my family to this play as a Christmas present, and we enjoyed many aspects of the production. However, we were in the A price seating in the center Mezzanine (good seats) and we could hardly hear! Imagine my dismay when the play began, and we simply could not make out the words spoken onstage! (We are not hard of hearing). I was so disappointed, for myself and my family.
Actors who enunciated more slowly were more audible. And pitch seemed to make some difference; with the exception of Orsino, the male characters' articulations carried slightly better. We heard Malvolio the best, and then Sebastian. Viola, Orsino, and Maria were largely unintelligible through much of the play, and Olivia not far behind, although her at times lower pitched speaking aided clarity. I know of the famous speeches by Viola, and they could not be understood.
It is possible there is an echo in the theatre. Whatever the reason, so many articulations did not carry. I was able to appreciate intonations, gestures, and comedic timing of voices in general, but most of the fine language and many of the jokes were lost to us; the audience below laughed when we simply hadn't heard the words.
There are many wonderful things to say about this production, and had the hearing of word articulation not been such a problem, I would have written to praise the sets, costumes, dance interludes, and conception of the play. But inability to hear word enunciations took away much of our enjoyment. Can this issue be addressed?
Saw the evening performance on the 27th in the new theater. The two things that stand out in my mind were the haunting vocals of the female singer in the orchestra -- mesmerizing -- and the length of the play (too long)! Almost 3 full hours including intermission!
Too many dramatic "theatrics"
added (flowers, dancing, etc.) for my taste. Not my favorite production, but still worth the $.
My wife and I went to see "Twelfth Night" on Dec 29th, and it was fantastic! Loved all the performances, loved the staging, loved the theater, loved it! Thanks for a wonderful evening!
I couldn't agree more that a beautiful production was ruined by the sound quality on the mezzanine; every other word was unintelligible. This is unnacceptable for such expensive tickets and I wish we had left immediately and asked for different seats at another performance. I will be reluctant to return.
Wonderful performance! I too had problems hearing in the mezz; however, I would urge people not to avoid the theatre because of the acoustics in the mezz. Get a seat in the orchestra, if you can. The acoustics are excellent there. But again, the main point is that the show was superb!
As a teacher of Shakespeare for over 30 years, I've seen a lot of productions of TWELFTH NIGHT, and I went to this one only because I was in the city and wanted to check out the new theater. I wasn't expecting much more than a pleasant evening of listening to familiar language spoken by well trained actors, and in fact, the Washington Post's complaints about the rose petal motif had left me wary. But I think it was the best TWELFTH NIGHT I've ever seen in my life, London and Stratford included. The production managed constantly to surprise me with its invention and its fresh--and, for my money, definitive--reading of the characters. It was certainly the sexiest version I've seen, but it was simultaneously funny and beautiful (a tough combination to hit). The cast was uniformly superb, and the director came up with dozens of ingenious touches (Viola and Sebastian have each other's luggage after the shipwreck; the music becomes an integral part of the action; and so forth). When we arrived at Feste's final song--brilliantly rendered, by the way, as the final "ho" melted into the sigh of an ominous wind--I was really sorry that the show was over. As for the Post critic and those rose petals....I guess he just didn't understand how they illuminated what was happening to the characters internally. Bravo to all.
I saw the show two weeks ago and was amazed by everything - the acting, the staging, the beautiful visual treat! I wanted to see it again! (Ahh but for lack of funds...
It is always a treat to see Christopher and Veanne on the stage together. They are magnetic. Of cource, I think Christopher must have chemistry with everyone he works with.
Veanne is a master of comic timing. Her droll line delivery has me laughing so hard I miss half of what she says. (Another reason I'd love to see it again.)
I've been a subscriber for three years and a member on and off for over 20 years. I LOVE the Shakespeare Theatre and I look forward to their next production.
When are you going to have Patrick Page back? He was absoluting amazing in Othello. You must have him back!
Overall the production was good. Feste stole the show his singing was excellent.
I have seen about 4 - 5 productions they should stop trying to modernize Shakespeare or at least they need to temper the modernization.
"Modern era" wants pomp and circumstance, when the gem of Shakespeare is the text.
I also agree that the acoustics in the theatre are bad, but that may be because the stage setting was acoustically reflective.
Actually, of what usefulness was the great curved structure?
three of us attended the 8pm show on Dec 26 and it was fabulous, the set, acting, whole production was really great! also loved the musicians.
thanks for a great night, superb!!
we will be back for more.
Shackford family
Reston,VA
My wife and I have been subscribers for years but something about this performance really stood out. The staging was fantastic, the backup singer added beautiful depth, and the cast was superb. Floyd Kings finale was a wonderful cap. He should sing more!!!
This was my first Shakespeare play, and I was very impressed overall, especially with the second part of the show. Well done.
I think Viola sounded flat - exactly what I would expect a woman passing as a man to sound like.
In school, we are only taught the tragedies and skip the comedies. Note to teachers: more attention to 12th night might spark interest in Shakespeare (I had none until tonight). Until now I felt that Shakespeare plays=gut wrenching depression.
I went with my family to see Twelfth Night yesterday afternoon, and we thoroughly enjoyed the production. We have seen many productions at the Shakespeare Theater over the past several years, and have never been disappointed. This was just another outstanding job by everyone involved. Thanks for giving us such a great dramatic treat!
Production was great, though we trouble hearing the actors yesterday afternoon, especially in the first act (we were in row DD). We thought we were just getting old, but our college-age daughter said the same thing.
Good luck for the rest of the season.
We enjoyed the production, but would have enjoyed it a LOT more if we could have understood - heard? - all the dialogue. We probably missed 1/2 of what the actors were saying - garbled, slurred, echo'y, or just plain indecipherable. Since we have never had this problem at the Lansburgh, my guess is that really bad acoustics in this otherwise lovely theater is the culprit. We were sitting in row P in the orchestra (GREAT sight lines) and were ages 14-53, and we all had the same problem. Too bad.
Good thing we already knew the story, or we would have been lost.
This was mediocre at best. For a truly excellent comedy in comparison, I think Loves Labors Lost totally outshone this one. I agree with those who noted that neither the actor playing Olivia or Viola was able to deliver the subtlety required of the roles and was disappointed that the director failed to give them better direction. Both actors seemed to be on the verge of hysteria throughout the first act. In a pants role, Viola is meant to who the fair Olivia. I cannot imagine anyone falling in love with someone who seems on the verge of crying as she delivers her messages or seems constantly overwrought. It became grating after a while. The second act was much better. The highlights were Malvolio, a seasoned actor though not as funny as he could have been and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who was funny, even though I'm sure a bit too stereotypically "gay". Watching Shakespeare in an American accent is disconcerting as it is. When the acting is monotonous (a lot of barking, high-strung deliveries, etc) and the diction is poor, it is positively distracting. My favorite role is the fool, very often the wisest character in any play. I've watched a ton of plays at ST, and no evening there is "wasted". I would still recommend it. Whether it appeals or not is a highly individual judgment.
Taichman has a problem directing women in pants roles. She seems to allow them all to find one pitch and one cadence and essentially deliver all their lines in that mode. This makes for very flat characters indeed. It happened with Kate in Taming of the Shrew and it happened here with Viola. The actors and Ms. Taichman may wish to watch the Royal Shakespeare Company DVDs to see how it's meant to be done.
I left the performance frustrated and angry because the "music" and "vocal" were so loud and grating that significant portions of the performance were ruined. For example, the closing scene is Floyd/Feste singing a song...what were the words..no idea..he was totally drowned out by the music. The opening scene with Viola walking in black was supposed to be moving but the vocalist was so shrill the scene lost any import. Floyd's first song was also drowned out. If the words are worth hearing why do the scenes. Michael Kahn used to say that music, scenery, etc were about telling the story, moving it forward and enhancing it. Just the opposite was true in Twelfth Night. If Michael has changed the company's priorities or doesn't hold visiting director's to the same standard, tell us I'll opt out of those plays. Also, the Harman's acoustics are different so if it going to be standard practice to allow the accompanyments to dominate the performance, just say so and I'll not attend these plays, though I have been a subscriber for more than 10 years. Also, perhaps young-new directors like Rebecca and David think loud music dominating text/words is the way to attract young audiences. Fine, sobeit, but did either of them or Michael sit in the audience and try to imagine if they could hear the actors over the music if they didn't already know the text verbatim! I don't think so. And, the singer was frequently off key as well. Very very troubling!!
My daughter and I loved the performance. We thought the rose petals were a wonderful dramatic touch, the type of thing that differentiates the immediacy of theater from movies. My daughter felt that Olivia was overacted, but we both were impressed with most of the other actors. We also liked the ending with Viola and the Count's choreographed exit of Viola undressing. Both of us expected Viola to take down her hair to appear more feminine, but the dancing (with Viola obviously so light and feminine) and the disrobing added a sensual touch that conveyed the message, but was not inappropriate.
My husband and I were seated in the first row center of the mezzanine and were distressed by the poor acoustics. I definitely missed 50% of the dialogue, particularly in the first half. Beautiful as this production is, it is ineffective if a significant portion of the audience cannot follow the text.
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