EPHRAIM — For their final production of the school year, Snow College Theatre Department has chosen William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, directed by Audrey MacNeil and co-directed by Charley Roetting. The title Twelfth Night alludes to the last night of the Christmastime celebration, however the plot of Twelfth night is more of a fantastical, whimsical story of confusion, romance, humor, and one of Shakespeare’s favorite methodologies, mistaken identity. When twins Viola (played by Rey Ivie) and Sebastian (played by Porter Harris) are separated by a shipwreck, Viola disguises herself as a man, and falls in love with Duke Orsino (played by Marcus Bahlmann) who is in turn in love with Countess Olivia (played by Charlotte Davidson). Countess Olivia, meeting Viola, thinking her a man, of course falls for her. The most popular of soap operas could only dream of such love triangles.
Show closes April 20.
Set in the land of Illyria, this Shakespearean tale leaves a lot of room for the creative team to be imaginative with the theme and setting. MacNeil and Roetting have been quite subtle in their theming, yet little clues throughout the costuming by Addilyn Mickelsen, set design by Trent Bean, and lighting design by Ari Jamieson all helped a Disney fan like me recognize that we were in the classic Disney movie era. This became even more clear with some of the sound choices by sound designer Roxy Smith, and the original music composed by Kate Matthews.
Matthews also played Feste, the jester or entertainer for Olivia. Matthews was absolutely delightful in every way. From her costume by Mickelsen, to the singing with the songs she had composed and that she played on the banjo, to the choreography that Matthews was also in charge of, to the absolutely impeccable comedic timing, Matthews was a gem. Through her costuming and mannerisms, it was clear that the character of Feste in this production was inspired by the Cheshire Cat, and it was a fantastic way to encompass all of what that character means.
The set design had a princess castle feel, which was accented by a fun moat up front. This moat was used with great humor throughout the show, and the ensemble of “wits” got to showcase their talents here. Props master Hayley Greco gets a shout out for the greatest use of a child’s pool and rubber duckies that I have ever seen on a stage. Twelfth Night is classified as one of Shakespeare’s comedies, but I have never found it as amusing as I have with Snow College’s rendition. Between the Disney easter eggs and the pure fun and joy that the cast seemed to be having on stage, this was a jovial way to be introduced to a lighthearted Bard work.
The elements of costuming by Mickelsen had layers that were so nuanced that they kept me noticing more and more. The first theme I found was color, with connections both with relatives and lovers and potential lovers. I also found character themes that were connecting the personality of the characters in the play with certain personalities within the movies used in the thematic inspiration. This was most prevalent within Feste’s costume and the final reveal of Viola.
The players had such fun chemistry. Ivie as Viola had great physical comedy as a woman playing a man, and played well against Davidson as Olivia. Their comedic antics were amplified when Harris stepped in as Sebastian, and I really loved how the three of them had some quite humorous moments of facial expressions breaking the fourth wall. Chloe Hannah played a fantastic Maria alongside Joe Olschewski’s Sir Toby Belch and they were topped off so well with Sir Andrew Aguecheek played by Soibi. The trio added magic with their mischief against Malvolio, played masterfully by Anneke Bahlmann.
Over the past few months I have been praising the college theatre programs in Utah. The way that the creativity of this production of Twelfth Night has elevated to the next level is just another example of why Utah is clearly home to such fine theatre arts education. Having the intellectual property freedom to be as creative as possible, the educational and creative team at Snow has been able to transform the words of Twelfth night into a blissful romp into a fairytale worthy of any magical telling, with sidekicks, humor, and memorable songs, costumes, and performances.
