‘Twelfth’ provides fun under the stars

Frank: On Saturday night, playing to one of the largest audiences we’ve seen at the Cornelia B. Stevenot Performing Arts Center, Murphys Creek Theatre opened their 2006 season with Shake-speare’s "Twelfth Night." Picnickers had arrived early and spread themselves over the tiered lawn area.

Grace: Which ties neatly into the play’s opening line: "If music be the food of love, play on." MCT takes this quote seriously in its version of this much-produced comedy.

Frank: The production does indeed involve a lot of singing — and dancing, too.

Grace: And not just Elizabethan music, as you might expect. Early on, we’re treated to a version of "Harbor Lights" that uses a lot of pedal steel guitar. The rest of the audience appreciated this anachronistic selection as much as I did, judging from the laughter that filled the amphitheater. And speaking of anachronisms, that song accompanies two water-logged characters emerging on the storm-washed shore while wearing yellow slickers. The costumes and settings are definitely modern.

Frank: That’s only one of the popular songs from different eras enhancing the action. One of my favorite scenes mimics the Jets and Sharks rumble from "West Side Story," finger snapping, knives and all.

Grace: Maybe we’d better touch on the basics of "Twelfth Night" before we get too far afield describing music, costumes, etc. Another quotation from the play pretty much describes the plot: "If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction." That being said, Frank, why don’t you give our readers a brief synopsis.

Frank: Not an easy task. Basically, this is another of those tales of confusion and disguise. Orsino, duke of Illyria, loves Olivia, but she spurns him. Viola and her brother, Sebastian, are shipwrecked and separated. Viola disguises herself as Cesario, a man, and becomes Orsino’s servant. Sir Toby Belch, uncle to Olivia, lives with her; his friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, wants to woo Olivia. Orsino sends Cesario to press his suit with Olivia. Olivia’s maid, Maria, and her steward, Malvolio, are sent to keep Cesario away, but Olivia finally relents and allows him in, whereupon she falls in love with him. Maria, angry with Malvolio, writes a letter in Olivia's hand, which he sees. Now he thinks Olivia loves him. Sebastian appears again, but Olivia thinks he is Cesario. He is bewildered but happy, and they marry. Sir Toby ends up marrying Maria, and the duke marries Viola. A fairly simple (!) tale, but there are additional complexities. That’s it in a nutshell — we almost need a coconut shell for this one.

Grace: Judging from the passage I just quoted, it seems that Shakespeare wasn’t above making fun of his own plots.

Frank: Let’s give director Graham Scott Green and his staff kudos for their conceptualization of "Twelfth Night" as a "hip" drama. Sometimes these updated versions don’t work very well, but this one did the play justice.

Grace: The set designed by Norman C. Estes evokes a Mediterranean atmosphere. It also provides numerous passages and doors to move the actors on and off the stage interestingly. But some of the lighting played distracting tricks, switching on and off for no apparent reason. I hope this was a simple technical glitch that will disappear for the remaining performances. On the other hand, the sound cues are perfect.

Frank: Now I suppose you want me to say something about the costumes. You know I’m hopeless when it comes to clothes, but I couldn’t help notice that Lara Ford as Olivia gets to wear a pretty sexy outfit. And Malvolio, played by Stephen Daly, finds himself in ridiculously appropriate garb in his humiliation scene. So to my eyes, Amy Mazzaferro’s costuming pleases the eye.

Grace: Let’s move to a subject that doesn’t flummox you as much — the actors.

Frank: My favorites? Josh Gren as Sir Toby Belch, particularly his physical comedy, and Martha Kight as the maid, Maria.

Grace: I’d definitely single out Tara Kayton, whose masculine movements and expressions fit her role as Cesario to perfection.

Frank: Her bits of stage business with a banana are hilarious.

Grace: Yes, Dr. Freud.

Frank: Ahem. The rest of the cast members are Jack Souza (Orsino), Tiffany Tassano (Valentine), Misty Day (a very musical Feste), William Trier (Andrew Aguecheek) and Kyle Gundlach (Sebastian).

Grace: I’m sorry to say that the opening night performance dragged a bit, and sometimes I couldn't quite hear the dialog.

Frank: Would it be fair to say, then, that MCT’s version of "Twelfth Night" was a propitious opening of their 2006 season?

Grace: Oh, I think so, apart from the minor criticisms mentioned. All in all, another fun evening under the stars.

(Forest Meadows residents Grace and Frank Muirhead are long-time members of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Grace — a former English teacher, technical editor and writer — is a member of Mur-phys’ Writers. Frank, a retired physics professor, is a self-described "rabid Shakespeare fan and language curmudgeon.")