'Twelfth Night' toys with mistaken identity

UMKC Theatre presented its final production of the school year last week. William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" is the story of mistaken identities, unrequited love and comedy.

The heroine of the play is Viola. She and her brother, Sebastian, were shipwrecked and each presumed the other had perished during the wreck.

Viola washes ashore in the foreign land of Illyria, and this is where the play takes place. While in Illyria, Viola tries to find work in Lady Olivia's court, but Olivia is refusing to see any strangers.

Thus Viola disguises herself as a man, changes her name to Cesario, and finds work in the court of a nobleman named Orsino, who happens to be pining after Olivia.

Lo and behold, while Viola, as Cesario, is working for Orsino she begins to fall for him.

All the actors in this production were great, but a few steal the show. Ben Newman's portrayal of Sir Toby was phenomenal. His delivery of drunken rants and slightly crude sexual innuendos was hilarious to say the least.

The relationship of Sir Toby and Olivia's gentlewoman Maria, played by graduate student Kathryn Bartholomew, was realistic if anything. The way she balances his rowdiness with her wit made for funny dialogue.

David Graham Jones' portrayal of Feste the jester was simply fun to watch. He was everywhere throughout the play, whether singing a song, making jokes, or offering witty advice.

The set design was simple, but had enough effects to let the viewer know what location the characters were in. The beginning design of the shipwreck was great with the sails blowing and lightning striking in the sky.

Overall the play was long, but good. Once you are familiar with the Shakespearean dialogue, you're pretty much enthralled in the play and can't wait to see what happens next.

jshort@unews.com