Date: Fri 23-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: MELISS

Quick Words:

Baumgartner-Shakespeare

Full Text:

THEATER REVIEW: Baumgartner Brings Brilliance To Little Theatre With Third

Return Of Shakespeare

(with cuts)

By Julie Stern

As the crowd streamed out of The Little Theater following The Town Players'

rendition of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Or What You Will one night last

weekend, a child of about nine kept plucking at her mother's arm, demanding in

an insistent tone, "I want to see it again !"

Over the years I've seen this show at least a dozen times, in interpretations

ranging from an off-Broadway rock opera to Stratford, England's traditional

Bard. Directors have used various approaches to make the comedy accessible to

modern audiences, from 1920s costuming complete with croquet sets and hip

flasks to pulsating electronic music and psychedelic light shows.

Now Ruth Anne Baumgartner is demonstrating once again, as she did in previous

seasons with As You Like It and Midsummer Night's Dream for the Players, that

classical Shakespeare works just fine, so long as the person in charge keeps

it funny. And without a doubt, whether you're nine or 90, this production at

The Little Theatre in Newtown, complete with color-rich period costumes,

authentic Elizabethan music and graceful minimalist sets, is a hoot!

The play links two separate plot lines. The romantic heroine Viola, an orphan,

is cast ashore on the coast of Ilyria when her ship is wrecked. Separated from

her twin brother, whom she believes to have drowned in the disaster, she

prudently disguises herself as a young man named Cesario and enters the

service of the local nobleman, Duke Orsino, hoping to win his heart.

Unfortunately, Orsino is desperately in love with his neighbor, the Countess

Olivia. When Orsino enlists Cesario to go to Olivia's house and plead his

case, the lady falls head over heels with the comely, beardless "youth"

instead.

Meanwhile, the rowdier and more dominant side of the play centers around

Olivia's tosspot of an uncle, Sir Toby Belch, and his band of merry pranksters

-- Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Maria the housekeeper, and Feste the clown. (In

Shakespearian comedy you can tell the high characters from the low by the

respective loftiness and silliness of their names.)

Together they plan an elaborate practical joke to make a fool of Malvolio, the

prim and puritanical steward of Olivia's estate, by convincing him that Olivia

is secretly in love with him.

In the Little Theater production the whole thing works beautifully for several

reasons. First and foremost is that Ms Baumgartner has put together a

first-rate ensemble to handle the principle roles.

Lucy Babbitt is outstanding in her portrayal of Viola/Cesario. She uses droll

body language to convey her mounting frustration and embarrassment in the face

of some rather aggressive overtures from Olivia, played with Elizabethan

hauteur by Erika Marks.

Rob Pawlikowski is irrepressible as Sir Toby, Mark Frattaroli provides a campy

mix of cowardice and witlessness as the foolish Sir Andrew, and Joanne Stanley

is properly bawdy and buxom as Maria.

Clad in black, with his staring blue eyes the only color in his appearance,

Pat Spaulding has the rigid intensity of the fanatic, willing to be tormented

for what he knows to be the true demands of destiny. It is easy to see why the

others cannot abide him. While we may feel shame and pity for the way he is

humiliated, at the same time we can share their satisfaction as well.

Alan Rice brings an attractive singing voice and wry sense of humor to the

central role of Feste, the wisecracking clown who ties the two halves of the

plot together. Manuel Browne in the role of Sebastian (who turns out not to be

dead at all) is a fitting twin to Viola, and just the man she needs to get her

out of a sticky predicament.

Ms Baumgartner's other major achievement is to enrich the ambience of the

production with a background of music and dance that is both authentic to the

period and beautifully executed by the performers. When the characters on the

stage make merry, the audience feels merry as well.

Twelfth Night is probably the easiest Shakespearian play to like. It was the

first one I ever saw, and the first one I took my own kids to. Based on the

reaction of the young lady in front of us at The Little Theatre, it would be a

very worthwhile place to take your won children this month.

(Shakespeare will continue at The Little Theatre, Orchard Hill Road in

Newtown, through July 31. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8,

and all seats are $10. Call 270-9144 for details or directions.)