Twelfth Night in the afternoon, at last

How absolutely refreshing to be able to sit before a live theatrical ensemble once again, and take in all the action and color and nuance and spoken word in all its remarkable glory.  And how even more refreshing when the play is Shakespeare’s intricate Twelfth Night, and the ensemble is Mill Valley’s talented Curtain Theatre.

The show—another of the Bard’s cross-dressing, mistaken-identity plays, this one directed by Michele Delattre—is full of delicious performances, clever machinations, and wonderfully-conceived choreography—not to mention the live-performance original-music soundtrack you won’t hear anywhere else.

You already may know the plot—how a twin brother and sister, separated in a shipwreck, learn to use their wiles, especially the sister Viola (Isabelle Grimm) to seek their best advantage in the country where they have come ashore.  There are laughs aplenty brought forth by the wildly funny antics of Feste the fool (Heather Cherry), Sir Toby Belch (Glenn Havlan), Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Steve Beecroft—who also produced and choreographed the setpieces), and Malvolio (Grey Wolf).  Not to mention the sweetly comedic and hopelessly lovesick Countess Olivia (Faryn Thomure in her first Curtain appearance), whose captivating fan-dance was one of the most memorable high-points of a show that has far too many such high-points to call out them all.

Kudos also to the set designer for making the most of the spare outdoor stage and costume design for the intermingling of semi-modern and traditional old English apparel for laughs as well as poignant confusion in the conflicted character of Viola/Cesario.

You’ll have to go see for yourself.  You still have a few more weekends to take in this pleasure, and there’s plenty of room for social distancing in the Old Mill Park Amphitheatre in the shade of the redwoods. Bring a sweater, it may get cool—and some cash.   While these performances are free, donations are always welcome.

Saturdays, Sundays and Labor Day Monday, August 14 to September 6, 2021
All shows at 2:00 PM
Old Mill Park Amphitheatre | Mill Valley, CA

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