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“Twelfth Night” concludes summer series

By Martha Patzer

The Actors’ Theatre concludes its summer Shakespeare series in Schiller Park with “Twelfth Night,” a fabulous comedy about shipwreck, mistaken identity, love and cross-dressing. This rendition is fun with many bright moments. But second to laughter, the most common response from the audience must have been: “What’d he say?”

The Actors’ Theatre concludes its summer Shakespeare series in Schiller Park with “Twelfth Night.” Photo by jeff mills/UW

Too often, the actors’ lines were muffled or unheard as they made the perilous journey from mouth to mic to speaker. If The Actors’ Theatre is hampered by budgetary constraints, they must realize that so too are their audiences. Even if we can hear four out of five words, so often in Shakespeare it is that fifth word that makes the line or pun or double-entendre work. We need to hear it. A few times during the night, the unfortunately drunk individual sitting a few rows back was getting more out of the play than the rest of us. (One of his more helpful comments: “Blah blah blah. Oh COME ON!”)

The only thing that could have made these actors more incomprehensible is singing, which they did many times. This adaptation is a musical — emphasis on music—with original score and lyrics by Ron Cook and Gary Ellson. The dancing, if you can call it that, was (one hopes) for comedic value only. It will be left up to the reader to decide if it is unsettling to attend a Shakespeare comedy with words and music by, well, not Shakespeare. Maybe it’s general Bush administration paranoia, but it calls to mind Ampleforth rewriting poems in “1984.”

Aesthetically, the play worked very well, if only due to (what had to be a high point for many) the cavalcade of attractive young actors of both sexes. But the boys, the boys! All at that delicate age, as Shakespeare put it, “in standing water, between man and boy.” In a play about cross-dressing eunuchs, there is really no better way to stack an ensemble.

Even if you can’t hear a word, this play is worth seeing just to catch Nick Lingnofski’s brilliant performance as the fool, Feste. It is impossible to ignore him up there and you wouldn’t want to, anyway. Lingnofski’s face is wonderful, and its expression reveals a talent that feels wasted on an outdoor stage with a bad sound system. Feste, get thee back to New York! Or rather, stick around so Columbus can see more of you!

“Twelfth Night” will be performed by The Actors’ Theatre through Sunday, 9/3 at Schiller Park in German Village. Admission is free. For more information, please call 444-6888 or visit www.theactorstheatre.org online

Originally Published: August 16, 2006

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