Marriotts Ridge - Twelfth Night

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Permalink Reply by Kris Dowd on January 19, 2010 at 7:17pm

In the words of Aerosmith, “Dude looks like a lady!” Like Aerosmith, many other artists found their way into Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night, including Beyonce, Nazareth, and Justin Timberlake. Marriotts Ridge High School’s modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic involved i-phones, vitamin water, scooters, snuggies, and of course music.
This updated take on Shakespeare’s classic did not detract from the story itself. When Viola and her twin brother Sebastian get separated by a shipwreck, Viola washes up on the shores of Illyria. She takes on the persona of Cesario, a man, and becomes a servant of Duke Orsino, who is madly in love with Countess Olivia . Olivia soon falls for Cesario’s charm, and Viola falls for Orsino’s charm. When Sebastian too washes up on shores, madness ensues.
The play was set in modern day Hollywood, where the upper class was represented by pop stars and business executives, and servants were managers and assistants. The show thrived from this concept, bringing with it humor, relatability, and a revival of Shakespeare. It was obvious that the cast loved the concept, for they embraced it and gave it all their energy. The combination of the cast’s vivacity and the modern day elements made the show unbelievably captivating for the audience. Their energy was present throughout the production, extending even to the bows where they performed a dance to “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire.
As Olivia, Caitlin Ratzlaff stood out. Her ability to portray a grieving, yet comedic, character was convincing. The inflection and delivery of her lines was artfully done. Another believable character was Duke Orsino, Reed Delisle, as he pined for Olivia. Hayley Fremuth, Viola, was clever and amusing as she learned how to act like a man. Likewise, Stephen Henderson, as Sebastian, charmed the audience as he was confused for his sister, Viola.
As a whole, the supporting cast stole the show. In a sea of Upperclassmen, Sophomore Brian Gilbert emerged as one of the strongest actors. He played the fool, and entertained the audience with his use of the stage, his wild gestures and his amusingly fantastic character commitment. When he wasn’t hopping over coffee tables or falling backwards on couches he was adding comedic relief through facial expressions and whimsical songs. Drew Belsinger, as Malvolio, was also one of the shows most comedic actors. He fully embraced the arrogance of his character, who believed himself to be God’s gift to women. Maria (Alli Kahan), Sir Toby (John Mynaugh), and Sir Andrew (Alex Woodhead) were a wonderfully devious threesome, devising plots against Malvolio. The men from the man-cave, and girls from the castle also did a wonderful job supplying energy to the show.
The scene changes in The Twelfth Night were extensive and obviously challenging. It was refreshing to see cast members assisting the stage crew in many of these changes. Though there were numerous scene changes, the audience was never bored. The use of disco lighting and music during these changes engaged the audience, and often amused them. The music choices were impeccable, highlighting the main purposes of scenes, such as “Accidentally in Love” and “Goin to the Chapel”.
The Twelfth Night is your typical romantic comedy. Girl acts as a boy, and falls for a man who thinks she’s a boy; that man loves another girl, but she falls for the boy who’s actually a girl. All in all, this show surpassed all expectations of your typical high school production.

Permalink Reply by Melia Stuppy on January 22, 2010 at 8:36pm

“I am…the man!” says Cesario.  But he isn’t.  Cesario is really Viola, who is in love with Orsino, who desires the love of Olivia, who finds herself captivated by Cesario, who is supposed to be Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother.  Confused?  Marriott’s Ridge High School baffled an audience with a hilarious love polygon in their modernized production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
 
Twelfth Night, the basis for the recent movie “She’s The Man,” tells the tale of Viola (HAYLEY FREMUTH), a young woman who disguises herself as a man and applies for a job under Duke Orsino (REED DELISLE), who sends her to woo Olivia (CAITLIN RATZLAFF) for him.  Viola is unsuccessful, causing Olivia to fall in love with her alter ego, Cesario, instead.  Meanwhile, Olivia’s servants attempt to fool Malvolio (DREW BELSINGER) into thinking Olivia is in love with him.  With this series of unrequited loves and misread emotions, the play lends itself to five acts of humorous chaos.

The remarkable thing about Marriott’s Ridge's production was that every character, regardless of his part, was fully engaged in the actions of each scene. It was clear that all actors, including ensemble members, had studied the play well enough to truly understand the lines and play them accordingly.

Any cross-gender acting would be difficult, but Fremuth excelled at playing a woman attempting to be a man—her nervous and cautious fight scene with Sir Andrew (ALEX WOODHEAD) brought out the “girl” in both of them. In addition, Fremuth's motions, tones, and inflections made it easy to understand the Shakespearean lines she was speaking. Ratzlaff made the connection between the elegant Olivia and a modern pop-star apparent—her behavior as the conceited diva reflected both.

The Fool (BRIAN GILBERT) played his comical role with an impressive twist: his gymnastic abilities and ukulele playing really added to the show, while still allowing him to remain in character. Likewise, Malvolio, the other “fool”, knew his character completely. Belsinger's awkward and angular movements were beyond fitting when coupled with his arrogant and oblivious personality.

With the theme of Hollywood, the costumes (designed by Jane Antico) and sets (Michael Leon) had a huge role to play: both elements had to create the impression that the play took place close-to-home in Beverly Hills, 90210, as opposed to five-hundred years ago. The costumes were modern yet appropriate for each character's status in society, and the sets, geometric and colorful, fully brought the present-day setting to life. The choreographed dance sequence at the end of the play (Erin Rusonis) was a fitting end to such a light-hearted comedy.

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Whatever the case may be for Marriott’s Ridge's actors, the final result was clear: a modernized Shakespearean comedy that was truly great, indeed.

Permalink Reply by Chikodili Agwuna on January 25, 2010 at 5:35pm

Pop music, coffee, and pink and black everywhere. 5 panels across the stage spell out everyone’s favorite zip code, 9-0-2-1-0. Are you on your way to a Miley Cyrus concert? No. You’re watching Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at Marriotts Ridge High School.
In this modern spin on the classic Shakespearean comedy, Viola dresses up like a man, taking the name of Cesario, and working for Orsino. Orsino is in love with Olivia. Olivia is in love with Cesario, and Cesario is in love with Orsino. Remember that Cesario is really Viola, who has been separated from her twin brother Sebastian, assuming him lost to the sea. With this crazy list of characters joined by many other wacky people, Twelfth Night was bound to turn out in a hilarious mix of circumstances.
Save for the Shakespearean language, the entire show reflected the society it was placed in perfectly. In between scenes, modern day songs were played. As it turned out, these songs went with the plot of the show. The cast’s energy and the modern setting and music spilled out into the audience, making for a good time.
The actors in this show were incredibly connected and that connection made the show run smoothly. Viola, played by Hayley Fremuth, played a girl playing a man perfectly. Her awkward motions and sayings throughout the show made the character seem extremely genuine. Olivia, played by Caitlin Ratzlaff, showed her affection for Cesario wonderfully, and didn’t show her knowledge of the woman behind the wig. The hilarious antics of Feste the fool (Brian Gilbert) and Malvolio (Drew Belsinger) stole the show as they always had the audience laughing and wanting more.
The set was amazingly good, while not holding too much on one stage. The Hollywood sign was projected behind the set, and if that wasn’t enough to remind you where you were, the huge panels saying “90210” definitely did. The reversible panels made for good quick scene changes while the audience rocked out to music. The costumes were great as they made one feel like they were really watching the lives of Hollywood’s elite today. The lights were superb as during scene changes they changed immediately to dance party lights, bouncing around the walls and the stage to help fuel the party. The show ended with a fantastic dance scene that made the audience even more excited.
With its pink and black theme, Snuggies, and pop music, Twelfth Night at Marriotts Ridge High School was really a Party in the U.S.A.

Permalink Reply by Kris Keochinda on April 27, 2010 at 7:14pm

Who would have expected iambic pentameters in the 9-0-2-1-0? With a little help from the words of William Shakespeare, Marriotts Ridge High School’s production of “Twelfth Night” is a solid show with a fresh setting.

“Twelfth Night” has a story so complex, that it would take a character web for everything to make sense. Twins, Viola and Sebastian, are separated at sea. Viola washes ashore in Illyria, Los Angeles where she soon becomes entangled with Orsino, a duke vying for the affections of mourning countess Olivia. Soon enough, Olivia is in love with Viola, who has disguised herself as Orsino’s servant, Cesario. Add to that the tomfoolery of Olivia’s Uncle Toby Belch and his friends and the result is a show so satisfying it leaves the audience wanting more.

The show takes a bold risk by making Illyria a part of Los Angeles and having the events occur in modern times. This risk pays off because the modern nature of the show allows for greater accessibility by the masses who may be turned away by the general unfamiliarity of Shakespeare’s language. The technical aspects were primarily responsible for this twist to occur since the actors, for the most part, read the play verbatim to Shakespeare’s play.

Hayley Fremuth, who plays Viola/Cesario was excellent at portraying a woman adjusting to being a man. In her first scene with Orsino (Reed Delisle) she allows the audience to see the initial uneasiness and difficulty of pretending to be a man. The chemistry between the two is electric, especially in a scene where Viola tries to let Orsino know that Olivia just is not interested in him, but Viola is. Caitlin Ratzlaff stuns the audience as Olivia, a diva who falls in love with the wrong person. Her interaction with Cesario is rather comical as Cesario tries to rescind Olivia’s affections for her.

The real scene stealers were Sir Toby Belch (John Mynaugh), Fool (Brian Gilbert), Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Alex Woodhead), and Maria (Alli Kahan). Their subplot involving Malvolio’s (Drew Belsinger) humiliation was what received the most reaction from the audience and was what they looked forward to. Drew Belsinger is especially impressive by making very intelligent character choices that allow him to go beyond the script and make Malvolio a rather dynamic character.

The ones who truly deserve the praise and applause are the technical people. The set design was a marvel, using five large panels to spell out 90210. However, there’s a twist! Once turned, the panels become the sets for Orsino’s Man-Cave and Olivia’s Girl Castle. The polarity of their nature is an interesting contrast in color. Despite being very loud at first, the sound designers were able to get a hold of the mics and tried their best with limited resources. The soundtrack was worthy of dancing in one’s seat and played a key role in cementing the show in modern times.
“How will this fadge (turn out)?” With passion, with heart, and with excellent chemistry “Twelfth Night” fadged a resounding success.

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