Shakespeare in the Park - Twelfth Night
The weather has been so dreadful that I'd kind of given up on seeing Shakespeare in the Park this year. But yesterday was sunny when we woke up, so we trooped off to stand in line for tickets. We were quite lucky -- we got the very last of the vouchers for seating. (After all the available tickets are distributed at 1:00 pm, 50 vouchers good for two seats are handed out, giving the holders first crack at any returns.) We got lovely seats that gave us a view of the Belvedere castle behind the grass-carpeted stage, a verdant, summery setting that suited the play perfectly.
I don't think I'd ever seen Twelfth Night performed, and I was a little leery of Anne Hathaway as Viola -- she has to carry so much of the play alone, and I have had very mixed responses to some of her performances. But as this article attests, she seemed giddy at the honor of the role and her enthusiasm was winning.
I still haven't found any explanation of why the production used early 19th-Century costume, but the Jane Austen-style dresses and Napoleonic military uniforms suited the story as well as anything. They definitely looked romantic, which I think was key, though I wish Antonio the pirate had had a costume that was not so slavishly inspired by Jack Sparrow. A group of six strolling musicians playing traditional English folk instruments also wove in and out of the action. It's a style of music I enjoy, and one that's well suited to that kind of pastoral setting. There were several songs that were quite moving -- I'm a sucker for vocal harmony.
Twelfth Night balances the explicit romantic farce of the main story with a rather mean subplot involving the Falstaffian Sir Toby Belch, and his dimwitted side-kick, Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Sir Andrew, played by Hamish Linklater, totally stole the show for me. His spaced-out delivery owed a lot to Kristen Wiig, with just enough self-delusion not to be pitiful. He is also a great physical comedian and performed some rubber-legged jigs that had everyone roaring.
It's gloomy again today, so I'm really glad that we jumped on the chance to see the play while the weather was good. It also clearly marked the anniversary of Leit's arrival in New York, since we had gone to see Sam Waterston in Hamlet in the park the weekend he first got here last year. I like creating traditions together, and I think this one is definitely going to stick.
I don't think I'd ever seen Twelfth Night performed, and I was a little leery of Anne Hathaway as Viola -- she has to carry so much of the play alone, and I have had very mixed responses to some of her performances. But as this article attests, she seemed giddy at the honor of the role and her enthusiasm was winning.
I still haven't found any explanation of why the production used early 19th-Century costume, but the Jane Austen-style dresses and Napoleonic military uniforms suited the story as well as anything. They definitely looked romantic, which I think was key, though I wish Antonio the pirate had had a costume that was not so slavishly inspired by Jack Sparrow. A group of six strolling musicians playing traditional English folk instruments also wove in and out of the action. It's a style of music I enjoy, and one that's well suited to that kind of pastoral setting. There were several songs that were quite moving -- I'm a sucker for vocal harmony.
Twelfth Night balances the explicit romantic farce of the main story with a rather mean subplot involving the Falstaffian Sir Toby Belch, and his dimwitted side-kick, Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Sir Andrew, played by Hamish Linklater, totally stole the show for me. His spaced-out delivery owed a lot to Kristen Wiig, with just enough self-delusion not to be pitiful. He is also a great physical comedian and performed some rubber-legged jigs that had everyone roaring.
It's gloomy again today, so I'm really glad that we jumped on the chance to see the play while the weather was good. It also clearly marked the anniversary of Leit's arrival in New York, since we had gone to see Sam Waterston in Hamlet in the park the weekend he first got here last year. I like creating traditions together, and I think this one is definitely going to stick.