"Twelfth Night" production made 'em laugh
By Sarah Lockwood

The Sunday afternoon crowd waited "with baited breath" (well, not exactly…how about laughing and joking with friends?) just before the final performance of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." This jovial atmosphere is exactly what director Frank Gallagher wanted to create. Unlike more somber Shakespearean performances he's seen, Gallagher wanted to remind the audience about the "necessity for play."

"Twelfth Night" gives laugher to anyone who reads it and should convey hilarity to anyone who sees it. In keeping with this idea, the ORU audience received a hearty helping of comedic entertainment.

Dished out by several fantastically talented actors, the friendly tale traces the steps of Viola, a shipwrecked noblewoman alone in Illyria. This make-believe city on the coast of Greece sets the stage for confusion when Viola, pleasantly played by senior Tammie Isbister, disguises her gender to work for the Duke Orsino as his personal servant.

Viola carries messages from the Duke, affectedly portrayed by junior Tony Manganaro, to the Lady Olivia, telling her of his amorous intentions. Instead of responding to the Duke's affections, Olivia, genteelly performed by senior Courtneay Sanders, swiftly falls in love with Viola's alter ego, Cesario.

While this wooing runs its course, wooing of a different sort goes on inside Olivia's own house. Olivia's uncle, Sir Toby Belch, convincingly played by junior Michael Ford, persuades the visiting suitor Sir Andrew Aguecheek to stay and pursue Olivia. This friendly arrangement keeps Sir Toby endowed with the financial freedom that the less-than-intelligent Aguecheek, amiably played by Damion Shade, supplies. (Needless to say, Aguecheek and Olivia exchange no words the entire show.) Maria, Olivia's handmaiden, enters the mix when Malvolio, Olivia's steward, takes his piously abrasive personality too far for the last time.

Maria, refreshingly played by sophomore Jessica Brantly, devises a scheme convincing Malvolio that Olivia loves him. This confusion marked the highlight of the play for most people. Malvolio, masterfully performed by sophomore Christopher Crawford, creates one of the greatest comic opposites in the play. Although other characters enjoy contending with Malvolio, Gallagher and Crawford hilariously and accurately presented the steward as his own worst enemy.

All comes back together in the end, with Sebastian, perplexedly played by sophomore Aaron Horne, unintentionally rescuing his twin sister Viola from her situation (he marries Olivia), and Feste, craftily played by J.J. Roberts, quite intentionally leaving Malvolio in his.

While the show ran on the ORU campus Friday through Sunday, Feb. 22-24, the cast and crew also performed at area schools during the week. The play succeeded in communicating both the wit and the wisdom of Shakespeare by emphasizing his delightfulness.

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