Subtlety is seldom one of the driving principles of the Johns Hopkins University Theater's recent production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, or What You Will. This is not an objection - in fact, it's quite the opposite. In spite of the verbal jousting that constitutes much of its script, the play remains one of the more accessible and least ambiguous of Shakespeare's major comedies. Overwrought period scenery and understated acting - both of which this rendition wisely avoids - would have done poor service to the work's agile combination of caricature, celebration and near-implausibility.
In other words, director and theater instructor James Glossman and his student actors have approached their material with the appreciation of the Bard's purposes that is the foremost requirement of any good take on Shakespeare. Though already well-supplied with moments of outsized emotion, not to mention the occasional beating or personal humiliation, the cast of this Twelfth Night also endeavors - admirably but somewhat distractingly - to unearth the satiric or dramatic wealth of minor roles and minor moments. Yet even the production's full-throttle scenes are nicely coordinated, and even the most emotional lines are delivered with unimpeachable precision. Time and time again, the latest show to hit the Merrick Barn verges on becoming too much of a good thing. And time and time again, the dedication and discipline of its cast pulls it back from the brink.
Twelfth Night runs along several unruly storylines that eventually and deftly converge. The first scenes present the Duke of Illyria, Orsino (junior Scott Morse), pining over the countess Olivia (senior Justine Wiesinger), who has refused his courtship. As he mopes to violin music (here provided by senior Anu Seshadri in a small role), a young lady named Viola (senior Julie Sihilling) finds herself shipwrecked on the Illyrian coast. She enters Orsino's household disguised as a boy and becomes the count's ambassador to Olivia - who, in turn, falls for Viola in her male guise. Later on, the sea captain Antonio (senior Joseph Micali) rescues Viola's twin, Sebastian (sophomore Eric Levitz in a really bad wig), from the seas. They too come to Illyria, setting off an explosion of ruses and revelations that would require a review twice this size to fully describe.
While this may be complicated enough in its own right, it is Shakespeare's gallery of more grotesque characters that lends the dialogue its humorous wealth. Olivia's besotted uncle, Sir Toby Belch (senior Rob Kasten) spends much of the play thinking of ways to dupe and torment the countess's uptight steward, Malvolio (senior Tim Wang). The dimwitted Sir Andrew (senior Kyle Dugan), the cunning gentlewoman Maria (junior Christen Cromwell), and the wise clown Feste (senior Elizabeth Eldridge) all give Toby a hand. They are not wholly responsible for the plentiful sprinting, exclamation and slapstick in this production. Still, Glossman's show doesn't reveal its comic capabilities until the whole gang gets on stage and starts running amok.
According to the production notes, Hopkins's Twelfth Night takes place in a fictional version of Greece. The costuming - which include jeans and sneakers, shiny cloaks, shiny cloaks, and a nightshirt and puffy pink slippers for Malvolio - doesn't do much to emphasize this. Nor does Margaret Fotusky's spare set, with its lattice screens and yellow walls. It is a spacious arena for Shakespeare's mayhem, although richer decoration would have clashed far less with the Hopkins troupe's exuberant performances.
Not all are particularly outlandish. Levitz's Sebastian and Sihilling's Viola are undoubtedly the least obtrusive characters onstage, providing well-considered contrasts to the unashamed heights of desire and self-importance that Wiesinger and Morse bring to their roles. For this Twelfth Night, every character counts. Micali offers Antonio as a portrait of full-volume indignation and bravery, not a throwaway sidekick to Sebastian, while Cromwell's witty Maria can hold her own against confederate schemers who, simply put, are more interesting on paper.
Although Viola's travails prop up the storyline, the misadventures of Shakespeare's schemers, jesters and hypocrites are its true lifeblood. Toby and Andrew are already among the best touches in the show. In the hands of Kasten and Dugan ??- who play their parts with apparent relish - their scenes feel like something out of Animal House, just with wittier language. Elizabeth Eldridge, whose accessories include an acoustic guitar and a full monk costume, channels a brand of unstoppable kookiness. Wang's work is much more volatile. Yet his urgently-delivered repertoire of annoyance, delusion and anguish nearly lets Malvolio steal the show from his jolly antagonists.
The reprimand that this "overweening rogue" eventually meets is the meanest gesture in Shakespeare's plot. Without deep tragic or political ambitions (both of which inform, say, The Merchant of Venice), the play presents an actorly challenge that is mainly technical - necessitating exact delivery, though seldom encouraging deep reinterpretation. Well, so what if Twelfth Night is one of the most evident and easy crowd-pleasers in the canon? In Glossman's Hopkins Theatre rendition, the show is clearly a delight to act and for the most part a delight to watch.
Twelfth Night, or What You Will, will be playing at the Merrick Barn on Nov. 16 and 17 at 8:00 p.m., and Nov. 18 at 2:00 p.m.
