CEDAR CITY — With love triangles, mistaken identity, cross-dressing, fools and wit, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is anything but simple. It’s no wonder that Twelfth Night is one of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s most performed plays, appearing in eleven seasons since the festival’s founding. Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2026 production, directed brilliantly by John DiAntonio, is a sharply tuned comedy honoring the Shakespearean tradition of audience involvement and also introduces new ways to tell the classic story.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night follows the twins Viola and Sebastian after they are separated in a shipwreck. Viola goes to the court of Duke Orsino disguised as a man named Cesario. Viola falls in love with Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Countess Olivia. The Duke sends “Cesario” to woo Olivia on his behalf, but Olivia falls in love with Cesario, not knowing that “he” is actually Viola in disguise. Meanwhile in Olivia’s household, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Feste the Fool, and the maidservant Maria stir up mischief against the haughty Malvolio. The result is a play full of chaotic revelry and romance.
The storm begins the production with a bang, and presents some of the most impressive technical elements of the show. The Sound Design and Original Music by John Nobori does an excellent job at creating atmosphere and tone throughout the production. The sound and music is done with the subtlety and balance necessary to never overwhelm the mic-less actors. During the opening storm, there are loud waves and crashes of thunder, and the need of the actors to yell over this storm to communicate created an immersive and exciting effect, but it never compromised understanding.
Another highlight of the storm was the use of aerial silks to show Viola going overboard. The classic theatre trope using long blue pieces of fabric representing water was elevated spectacularly. This Aerial Choreography by Eileen Little was elegant, and Caitlin Wise as Viola created a moment that was beautiful, unique, and interesting.
There is a wonderful balance in the juxtaposition between our different sets of lovers. Wise presented a Viola who was bad at acting like a man, but was never caught all the same. Small moments that highlighted her femininity created some fantastic comedic moments. Wise’s Viola takes great joy in her own wit and schemes, which contrasts beautifully with the earnestness of Matthew Wangemann playing Sebastian.
On the other side of the love triangle we have Lavour Addison and Kayland Jordan as Orsino and Olivia respectively. Addison and Jordan were perfectly matched in creating larger than life, hopelessly romantic nobles. When the characters fell in love, Addison and Jordan made certain that they fell hard, deeply, and somewhat ridiculously. Even though the object of Orsino’s proclaimed affection was Olivia, the chemistry between Addison’s Orsino and Wise’s Viola was literally breathtaking. I found myself frequently gasping at the romantic tension these two actors created.
Speaking of chemistry, the rapport between Blake Henri as Sir Toby, Kathryn Tkel as Maria, and John Harrell as Sir Andrew turned the subplot into a chaotic and joyful riot. Both Henri and Harrell had excellent moments of physical comedy and a strong understanding of the humor of the text. Tkel’s Maria brought a sharp wit and grounded performance that contrasted beautifully with the ridiculous antics of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. Their occasional accomplice was the witty fool Feste, played strikingly by Gabriel W. Elmore. Elmore crafted a character who almost seemed to exist out of time, he seemed to be more aware than anyone else of what was going on, and cleverly got involved when he saw fit. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Elmore created a fascinating character.
Another very well crafted character is Rodney Lizcano’s Malvolio. Lizcano showed an excellent understanding of the text, specifically in a scene when he reads a fake love letter. His mastery of the text came through in hilarious physical and vocal choices that carried him from pompous to unhinged. An additional element that added to the comedy of many of these moments was the use of music. Gorgeous opera moments from Henri’s Toby, beautiful guitar and vocal numbers from Elmore, and the original music by Nobori did an excellent job at setting tone and creating comedy.
Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Twelfth Night is a well-crafted production. From stunning and detailed costume and hair design by Bill Black, to thrilling and funny fight choreography by Caitlyn Herzlinger, the attention to detail creates a world immersed in revelry and chaos of this hilarious comedy. The thing that stood out the most was the truly excellent understanding of text and comedy. Shakespeare’s writing is brilliant and the combined efforts of Director John DiAntonio, Dramaturg Lezlie Cross, and Voice and Text Coach Philip Thompson flawlessly tapped into that brilliance. In doing so, they made the comedy accessible and understandable to a modern audience. Visit Utah Shakespeare Festival’s production of Twelfth Night for an evening of fun, love, wit, and unmatched comedy.
MORE INFO: TWELFTH NIGHT plays at Utah Shakespeare Festival in the Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre (200 W Shakespeare Ln, Cedar City Utah 84720) Wednesdays and Saturdays through September 5, 2026. Tickets are $20-$94. For more information, visit www.bard.org or call 800-PLAYTIX.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM!
If you’re a director, producer or marketing contact who would like to have us review your show, please fill out this form.
If you have comments about this article, please fill out this form.
