Upcoming: Twelfth Night by Shakespeare via Bollywood, Austin Shakespeare in Zilker Park, May 3 - 27

presents

Twelfth Night, or What You Will

by William Shakespeare

via Bollywood

directed by Ann Ciccolella

at the Hillside Theatre, Zilker Park

May 3 - 27 at dusk

Featuring new music by Austin singer/songwriter Naga Valli, Austin Shakespeare welcomes young and old to a Bollywood-inspired production of one of Shakespeare’s most popular romantic comedies: Twelfth Night; or What You Will! Now in its 28th season of offering free Shakespeare in Zilker Park, Austin Shakespeare stages the story of Viola, a young girl disguised as the boy servant Caesario in the fantastic world of Illyia who falls head over heels in love with her master, Duke Orsino, as he sends her to Olivia woo for him, the woman he loves. The story is also well-known for the silliest of meanies, Malvolio, who is tricked into wearing a distinctively unusual outfit to also woo his mistress Olivia.

The show features dance moves by acclaimed Austin choreographer, Prakash Mohandas. Two guest artists from Washington DC top the cast with Mary Candler as Viola and Rafael Untalan as Orsino. Both are recent Master of Fine Arts graduates of the renowned Academy of Classical Acting from The Shakespeare Theater, Washington DC.

"Bollywood is now a beloved part of our culture. Young people are especially delighted by its music and dance," commented Artistic Director Ann Ciccolella. Twelfth Night was also titled by Shakespeare What You Will and we embrace that sense of delight and mayhem in our Bollywood costumes and sets!"

Cast
Orsino, Duke of Illyria Rafael Untalan*
Sebastian, twin to Viola Johann-Robert Wood
Antonio, a sea captain Aaron D. Alexander
Valentine, gentleman

attending on the Duke Johann-Robert Wood
Curio, gentleman

attending on the Duke David J. Boss
Sir Toby Belch,

uncle to Olivia Rick Roemer *
Sir Andrew Aguecheek,

a foolish knight Philip Kreyche
Malvolio,

steward to Olivia Michael Dalmon
Fabian,

servant to Olivia David J. Boss
Feste, a clown Sam Mercer
Olivia, a rich countess Jennifer Gravenstein
Viola, twin sister

to Sebastian Mary Candler*
Maria, Olivia's gentlewoman Jill Swanson
Singer Sangeetha Ekambaram

* member, Actors' Equity

Creative Team
Costumes Jonathan Heibert
Sets Ia Enstera
Lights Jason Amato
Music Naga Valli
Choreography Prakash Mohandas

Measure for Measure, Austin Shakespeare at the Rollins Theatre, Spetember 10 - 27

Austin Shakespeare's Measure for Measure can offer you a good time. It has a dramatic intrigue, lots of clowning, a clever time-warp setting in Savannah, Georgia of the 1920s and a cast that I'd be happy to put up against any other American Shakespeare company out there.

At the same time that he's entertaining us, Shakespeare is working some much deeper themes. These include the responsibility of authority; chastity, promiscuity, desire and disease; the role of the state in policing behavior; the arrogance of office and the equally reprehensible pride that may attend self-righteous virtue.

Summarizing all in a lengthy phrase, Measure for Measure deals with the folly of the pursuit of fleeting pleasure and the difficulty of making virtuous preparation for inevitable death.

Pretty crunchy stuff.

You don't have to take it that way, of course. The highly positive comments posted to date at NowPlayingAustin are all over the place, but each of the five ratings is for the maximum five stars.

Director Ann Ciccolella and the cast substitute Savannah for the Shakespeare's Vienna, which was imaginary, in any case, and their molasses Georgia accents give the words of this generally unfamiliar text further exotic tang. For that double distilled concoction -- Elizabethan text to Savannah speech -- you can expect your inner ear to take longer than usual to tune in. The clear diction of their wondrous speech helps.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .