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REVIEW: 12TH NIGHT
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Help me make it through the "Night"
The young Thermodynamic Theater Company aims high but gives a timid performance that undermines Shakespeare's gender-bending romp "12th Night."
By FRANK EPISALE
Offoffoff.com
"Twelfth Night" is Shakespeare's most sexually subversive play, full of gender-bending plot twists and erotic undertones. As such, it would seem
the perfect inaugural production for a young downtown theater company committed to smart, fun, politically progressive work. There's a risk,
though, in producing canonical theatre: when the audience is already familiar with a play, there are a lot of expectations to fulfill.
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| 12TH NIGHT |
Written by: William Shakespeare.
Directed by: Kelly Lynn Harrison.
Cast: Chris Arrunda, Joe Beaudin, Chris Briggs, Erin Brindley, J.C. Devore, David Hatkoff, Kate Hess, Brian MacInnis, Lisa Raymond, Amy
Rhodes, Lee Rosen and Justin Steeve.
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| SCHEDULE |
Kraine Theater
85 East 4th St. near 2nd Ave.
Nov. 30 - Dec. 16, 2001
Fri.-Sun. 7:30 p.m.
(917) 951-2091
Tickets: $15
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Thermodynamic Theater Company set its "modern Christmas production" of Shakespeare's comedy in contemporary New England,
and aims to explore the queer aspects of the plot to their full potential while preserving and respecting the text. Promising on paper, this approach
seems to have de-fanged the actors to some extent. Lashing the outlandish story to a familiar setting results in some clever moments but ultimately
too casual a pace and conversational a tone. The actors chuckle, but never laugh, woo but fail to swoon, raise their voices but rarely yell. They are
nervous rather than afraid, sad rather than anguished, and annoyed rather than enraged. Swordplay in the text becomes fisticuffs here, so there is
never any mortal danger. When Malvolio (Lee Rosen) is imprisoned, the action is now set in Olivia's basement and there is a muddy suggestion of
an S&M dungeon. Other than providing a glimpse of Rosen's gym-boy physique, though, the scene fails to titillate, and there is little done to
complement the extreme drama and dark humor of the situation.
There are some impressive performances here, notably J.C. Devore whose mourning Sebastian is both charming and sexy and Joe Beaudin
whose unrepentant clowning as (Sir) Andrew (Aguecheek) is a welcome relief from the too-polite tone of most of the action. Brian MacInnis
(Valentine) and Justin Steeve (Antonio) capture the kind of homoerotic sweetness I suspect the production was aiming to achieve more often.
Others fare less well. While Feste is often interpreted as a bitter fool, Amy Rhodes has recast the role as a sort of homeless teenage girl who plays
cassettes instead of singing and delivers the majority of her lines with an indifferent sarcasm in place of biting wit. Christopher Briggs is strangely
withdrawn and timid as (Sir) Toby (Belch).
Kelli Lynn Harrison's mostly static staging fails to do much to help the actors other than keep them from running into each other. The
stage combat is clumsily executed and contributes to the impression that the entire production is too SAFE. The actors are too polite to each
other, to the text and to the audience. For a production that ostensibly focuses on sex, it is a surprisingly chaste interpretation of a very sexual
play. Again, this is largely the result of timidity and misguided politeness. These are gifted, charismatic performers for the most part and someone
should have given them more permission to take up some space and swing their hips. Instead, the overall impression is too often that of unusually
talented high-school students performing in a church basement.
Thermodynamic clearly intended this to be a holiday celebration of an inauguration. In a surprisingly touching final moment, Feste says to
the audience, "We'll strive to please you every day" — one imagines this being a sort of Christmas toast from a new theater company to its
audience. The intelligence and enthusiasm of the company are obvious and one can't help but hope that with increased confidence and greater
resources at their disposal they will rediscover the energy and excitement of last year's "Spooky Dog Mysteries." The next time these kids throw a party,
let's hope they let loose and make some noise.
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DECEMBER 10, 2001
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
Reader comments on 12th Night:
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| • | review from George Blackburn, April 17, 2002 |
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| • | olivia from andy downes, Feb. 2, 2003 |
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| • | 12th Night from Warren Sanders, Nov. 24, 2004 |
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