Rider University celebrates the Shakespeare comedy.
By: Stuart Duncan
The final production of the year at Rider is always a little sad, because you realize you are saying so long to the seniors, many of them very talented. This year, the show, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, is doubly sad because long-time faculty member and director of this show Richard Homan has announced his retirement; he will be relocating to San Francisco. As a farewell, he and his company have left us with a joyous final evening, a Shakespeare done to the proverbial "T." It’s a delicious antidote for anyone who believes that the Bard is difficult to comprehend or boring to sit through.
Shakespeare’s own subtitle for the work (written sometime between 1598 and 1600 and obviously aimed at the festivities of Jan. 5, the 12th night after Christmas) is "What you will." And it is in that attitude that director Homan has aimed his company. We begin with the lovesick Duke Orsino (Luke Klein, one of eight seniors in the cast) speaking the familiar lines: "If music be the food of love, play on; give me excess of it…" Very shortly we will hear the necessary exposition: how there has been a shipwreck off the coast of Illyria; how Viola (the super talented Kim Hausler, another senior who will be greatly missed) has been rescued by a sea captain, changed into a boy’s garb and now seeks to serve the Duke. (Happily, after graduation Ms. Hausler will head for Florida State University and work for a master’s degree in acting.)
We then meet the buffoons of the comedy. Sir Toby Belch (who so amused Queen Elizabeth that she demanded he return in another play) is played by sophomore Joe Sabatino, who most certainly lives up to his character’s last name. Matt Cook (another senior who will be greatly missed) plays Sir Andrew Aguecheek with droll humor that impressed the opening night audience as just the right approach. Kerry Bowers is Maria, the lusty maid who wantonly goes along with the mischief, but leads the men on. Another senior, Chad Schubert, is Fabian, perhaps the most balanced of the motley crew.
And then we meet Feste, the court clown (beautifully played by Danny Lane, armed with his guitar and pleasant singing voice, who will take us to the level of a slapstick revue). From his sassy retorts to his sing-along "Hey ho, the wind and the rain," he delights every minute and allows director Homan to take the play to a different level than mere comedy.
Meanwhile, handling the other branches of the convoluted plot are Michele Danna as Olivia, trying desperately to repel the unwanted advances of the Duke, all the while suggesting to the mis-gendered Viola that she might well be open to his blandishments. The versatile Ed Egan is Malvolio, her steward, much wronged by our buffoons; and Arnaldo Ortiz is Sebastian, Viola’s brother, not lost at sea but also rescued, thereby permitting mistaken identities and plenty of confusion to clear up in the final scenes.
Wisely, director Homan has kept the setting simple a room with four curtained doors (that open and shut as if by timed magic), thus allowing vigorous entrances and exits. The costuming is what is called "contemporary," thus permitting a few modern props (such as beer cans) that bring nice laughs without hurting the mood. Above all, a wonderful pace keeps the evening at a constant bubble of excitement.
What a year at Rider: a production of Hair that brought back the days of pot-smoking, flower-children and songs about love and war in the same sentence; The Servant of Two Masters, commedia dell’arte at its glorious finest; and now a Shakespeare that will long be remembered for its fresh and sassy attitude. A remarkably diverse program, reaching ever greater heights.
Twelfth Night continues at Yvonne Theater, Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrence, through April 29. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10, $5 faculty/students. For information, call (609) 896-5303.

