After a successful semester showcasing “Neighborhood 3,” and “The Music Man,” the William Peace University Theatre department is currently presenting an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”
The play is a comedy that presents the multiple romantic exploits of its central characters Viola, Sebastian, Duke Orsino, and Lady Olivia. This includes love triangles, unrequited affection, and varying humorous misunderstandings.
“People should expect to laugh and watch other people fall in love multiple times with multiple people,” said DJ Curtis, a musical theatre major and a senior at WPU. “It’s a romantic comedy on stage.”[sidebar title=”See the Show” align=”left” background=”on” border=”all” shadow=”on”]
Twelfth Night, or What You Will is showing at the Leggett Theater Feb. 25-28. Buy tickets at theater.peace.edu.
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Curtis will be portraying a character mainly for comic relief, Feste the Fool.
“There are some aspects that are relatable to me,” Curtis said about Feste, “that is he is an artist and an entertainer, and being paid whatever I can for it, and constantly trying to keep up with the spirits of those around me.”
Curtis expressed a great deal of enthusiasm in regards to the work being done by the cast and crew, and believes this upbeat and easygoing production should be viewed by all. He noted that the audience shouldn’t worry about any confusing older dialogue or dialect, and that the professional performances of WPU actors will carry it into relatable language.
“Everyone should definitely come to see this,” he stated. “Kids should enjoy the humor and identity confusion that takes place, as well as the production’s thematic jokes. Adults will catch and appreciate the adult themes, and its Elizabethan language will be translated through the portrayals of the show’s actors.”
Originality and style can also be sought when attending this play, despite having been written over four-hundred years ago.
“It is set in an imaginary 1980s-movie style,” said director Dr. Wade Newhouse. “The costumes are 1980s, as well as the shapes and colors onstage, and the poster is based off of a famous artist at the time. It begins with a radio playing songs from that time and the actors performances are reminiscent of teen angst.”
Newhouse had worked with most of the cast before, and said they have great chemistry — an important selling point in a comedy.
“I love the chosen cast,” Newhouse said. “The most telling thing was at the audition, they were like a stand-up show, the actors already knew how to play off those jokes with one another.”
