So I figure that one of the best ways to improve my writing is to review everything I see. Last weekend I saw some friends in a Biola Shakespeare play. This week you should see it too, because it's absolutely hilarious.
“She’s the Man,” a 2006 rendition of “Twelfth Night” starring teenybopper Amanda Bynes, loses its appeal past middle school.
But Torrey Theatre Club’s side-splitting performance of the Shakespeare comedy would be hard to dismiss at any age.
“Twelfth Night” opened last Friday night to a riotous audience.
“It was the most energetic and hilarious opening night I’ve ever been a part of,” said director Rebecca Card, a senior. “The audience was very alive, which brought the best out of the actors.”
Composed entirely of Torrey students and alumni, the drama troupe is staging its second production of the year. But this marks its ninth annual Shakespeare play and comes on the coattails of classics such as “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Much Ado About Nothing.”
Falling on the same weekend as Missions Conference, the debut’s attendance suffered the effects of a small exodus of students during the Conference.
But if numbers were scant, talent certainly wasn’t.
One of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, “Twelfth Night” sets a few lovesick characters and a company of fools in the fictitious land of Illyria. The shipwrecked heroine Viola (sophomore Marlene Velius), whose brother Sebastian (sophomore Greg Myracle) has been lost at sea, dons his abandoned clothes as a way to get a job serving Duke Orsino (alum Timothy Carroll). Disguised as a the page “Cesario,” Viola becomes the Duke’s confidant and falls in love with him, only to find he is smitten with the elegant lady Olivia (senior Laura Shewmaker).
The gender roles go awry when Olivia falls for the disguised Viola, and things get even messier when Viola’s look-alike brother Sebastian returns from sea to find he’s in the middle of a love triangle.
Velius is comical and convincing as Viola — she kept the crowd riveted with a deft, expressive interpretation of the cross-dressing girl.
The real showstoppers were the drunken trio of the Feste the Clown, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, masterfully acted by junior Jonathan Wright, sophomore Peter Gross and freshman Anthony Kemp, respectively. From the opening drinking scenes, through pranks on the stolid Malvolio (alum Paul Schoerner) to a ridiculous duel between the effeminate Sir Andrew and disguised Viola, the three own the stage.
Kemp, who’s been acting since childhood, makes a memorable Torrey Theatre debut— his facial acrobatics and natural comedic timing made him an audience favorite. Wright is a first-rate virtuoso, tumbling across the stage, singing clownish ditties and tangling the plot by disguising as a priest to perform a hilarious, renegade wedding ceremony. Gross, as their rowdy, flask-wielding ringleader, earns the affections of both Olivia’s witty friend Maria (sophomore Amy Cannon) and the crowd.
The production generally eluded the curse of amateur Shakespeare — the core cast members, at least, didn’t let the complexities of the verse overwhelm their acting. However, running to 3.5 hours, the play may invite a bit of seat-squirming.
“Twelfth Night” is bawdy Shakespeare at its best — witty, winsome and rife with Elizabethan sexual innuendoes. And fortunately for rookies in the audience, the humor and plotline translate well despite the “language barrier.”
Boasting what is certainly one of the finest casts in the club’s recent history, “Twelfth Night” is a must-see. The members of Torrey Theatre have undoubtedly done this classic comedy justice.
Two more shows will take place in Mayers Auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for alumni and senior and $10 general admission.
“She’s the Man,” a 2006 rendition of “Twelfth Night” starring teenybopper Amanda Bynes, loses its appeal past middle school.
But Torrey Theatre Club’s side-splitting performance of the Shakespeare comedy would be hard to dismiss at any age.
“Twelfth Night” opened last Friday night to a riotous audience.
“It was the most energetic and hilarious opening night I’ve ever been a part of,” said director Rebecca Card, a senior. “The audience was very alive, which brought the best out of the actors.”
Composed entirely of Torrey students and alumni, the drama troupe is staging its second production of the year. But this marks its ninth annual Shakespeare play and comes on the coattails of classics such as “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Much Ado About Nothing.”
Falling on the same weekend as Missions Conference, the debut’s attendance suffered the effects of a small exodus of students during the Conference.
But if numbers were scant, talent certainly wasn’t.
One of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, “Twelfth Night” sets a few lovesick characters and a company of fools in the fictitious land of Illyria. The shipwrecked heroine Viola (sophomore Marlene Velius), whose brother Sebastian (sophomore Greg Myracle) has been lost at sea, dons his abandoned clothes as a way to get a job serving Duke Orsino (alum Timothy Carroll). Disguised as a the page “Cesario,” Viola becomes the Duke’s confidant and falls in love with him, only to find he is smitten with the elegant lady Olivia (senior Laura Shewmaker).
The gender roles go awry when Olivia falls for the disguised Viola, and things get even messier when Viola’s look-alike brother Sebastian returns from sea to find he’s in the middle of a love triangle.
Velius is comical and convincing as Viola — she kept the crowd riveted with a deft, expressive interpretation of the cross-dressing girl.
The real showstoppers were the drunken trio of the Feste the Clown, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, masterfully acted by junior Jonathan Wright, sophomore Peter Gross and freshman Anthony Kemp, respectively. From the opening drinking scenes, through pranks on the stolid Malvolio (alum Paul Schoerner) to a ridiculous duel between the effeminate Sir Andrew and disguised Viola, the three own the stage.
Kemp, who’s been acting since childhood, makes a memorable Torrey Theatre debut— his facial acrobatics and natural comedic timing made him an audience favorite. Wright is a first-rate virtuoso, tumbling across the stage, singing clownish ditties and tangling the plot by disguising as a priest to perform a hilarious, renegade wedding ceremony. Gross, as their rowdy, flask-wielding ringleader, earns the affections of both Olivia’s witty friend Maria (sophomore Amy Cannon) and the crowd.
The production generally eluded the curse of amateur Shakespeare — the core cast members, at least, didn’t let the complexities of the verse overwhelm their acting. However, running to 3.5 hours, the play may invite a bit of seat-squirming.
“Twelfth Night” is bawdy Shakespeare at its best — witty, winsome and rife with Elizabethan sexual innuendoes. And fortunately for rookies in the audience, the humor and plotline translate well despite the “language barrier.”
Boasting what is certainly one of the finest casts in the club’s recent history, “Twelfth Night” is a must-see. The members of Torrey Theatre have undoubtedly done this classic comedy justice.
Two more shows will take place in Mayers Auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for alumni and senior and $10 general admission.
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