Rachael Hettinger (left) is Viola and Emma Delaney is Olivia in the Bromfield Dram Society’s production of “Twelfth Night.” (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz) MORE PHOTOS
In a play about miscommunication and misunderstanding, the Bromfield Drama Society made everything crystal clear for the audience last weekend in its humorous rendition of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”
After weeks of preparation, Bromfield drama students brought their performance of “Twelfth Night” to the Harvard community with shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
All three performances were supposed to be outside in the fashion of Shakespeare in the Park, but Friday’s performance was indoors because of rain. Luckily the skies were clear for Saturday and Sunday’s performances, and playgoers enjoyed a nice evening outside on the field in front of Bromfield.
Talented cast, unique setting
The play was a vehicle to show the depth of talent at Bromfield. Actors handled the Shakespearean language and content with grace and sophistication. They understood what they were saying, and this enabled them to convey humor when needed and seriousness when a scene called for it.
Bromfield’s version of “Twelfth Night” was also unique in its use of a 1940s setting and the jazz and swing music from that period that played throughout the performance.
The protagonist of “Twelfth Night” is a young woman named Viola, played by Rachael Hettinger, who is shipwrecked on the shores of Ilyria. She is separated from her twin brother, Sebastian (Joey D’Amore), at sea and assumes that he has died. Once in Ilyria, Viola disguises herself as a man named Cesario and begins to work for Duke Orsino (Johnny Bakis).
A complicated love triangle then emerges, with Viola falling in love with Orsino, Orsino falling in love with a countess named Olivia (Emma Delaney), and Olivia falling in love with Viola while assuming she is a man. Drama ensues.
Hettinger shines
Hettinger, a senior, thrived in her final role as a Bromfield drama student. She showed longing when talking about Orsino and was effective in her discomfort with Olivia’s advances. Many of the play’s best scenes were the interactions between Viola and Olivia.
When the play begins, Olivia is a dour character who seems to have contempt for everything and everyone, but her character shifts abruptly when the countess professes her love for Viola. Delaney handled this drastic shift smoothly. Her Olivia was so serious at the beginning of the play that the change was amusing and striking.
The parts of the play that got the most laughter and applause from the audience were the scenes with the jester, Feste, played by Belle Flint. As with many of Shakespeare’s plays, the wisest character in this drama was the fool, who showed her wit by mocking other characters without their knowing.
Flint was highly engaging as Feste and stole every scene she was in. Flint’s Feste was boisterous and hysterical, with priceless facial expressions that captured perfectly the ridiculousness of what was happening on stage.
Xavier Neang and Diane LaMattina complemented Belle’s humor nicely in their respective roles as Sir Toby Belch and Lady Andrea Aguecheek. Sir Toby and Lady Andrea are both highborn, but they are drunken idiots who are more fool than the fool. Throughout the play, they perform various shenanigans that embarrass themselves and their families.
Swords to fish
One of the play’s best scenes was when Sir Toby convinces Lady Andrea to duel with Viola for no reason. The sword fight, as staged, consisted of Andrea and Viola lightly clinking their swords together with looks of complete despair on their faces. The crowd was already laughing when the fight began, but their laughter became a roar when Sir Toby replaced their swords with fish.
Another of the play’s most amusing scenes came from a scheme devised by Toby and Andrea with the assistance of a gentlewoman named Maria, played by Aislyn Fair. The three of them realize that Olivia’s steward, Malvolio, played by Caoilin O’Connor, is in love with Olivia so they decide to mess with him. They trick him into believing that Olivia enjoys a man who wears bizarre attire and always smiles and Malvolio approaches Olivia this way. Olivia is repulsed by this and rejects him immediately.
Malvolio is one grumpy character and smiling does not come easily to him. O’Connor’s attempts to practice smiling as Malvolio were both funny and believable. If your only interaction with O’Connor was seeing this play, you really would think he was incapable of smiling, showing his acting skill in that scene.
Complementing the mood of the play as a whole, the cast did a full dance number after their final bow. All the actors seemed to enjoy themselves, and it was the perfect way to end the performance.
