William Shakespeare will turn 445 this week, and as Chicago is celebrating with "Talk Like Shakespeare Day," daring productions of one of the Bard's best comedies can be seen here in the hippest theater city in the country. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre is a decently straightforward production with one major exception: Some members of the audience might want to bring ponchos. Combining Shakespeare with Sea World, director Josie Rourke's Twelfth Night adds a wet level of fun to the already hilarious play.
Shakespeare's plot, if you recall, centers around the shipwrecked Viola (Michelle Beck), who finds herself stuck in the fantastical Illyria and disguises herself as a male page for the local Duke Orsino (Mark Montgomery) and then goes on to fall in love with him. The duke, though, is in love with Olivia (Karen Aldridge), who actually ends up falling for the Duke's effeminate page. Of course, hilarity ensues and the misadventures of a few drunks, clowns and a particularly rigid steward punctuate the romantic chaos.
The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre imported Rourke and scenic/costume designer Lucy Osborne from Britain, where both of them are acclaimed for their work in classical and contemporary theater. For Twelfth Night, Osborne filled the thrust stage with 7,000 gallons of water, allowing the actors to dive, swim and slip amid some of Shakespeare's wittiest dialogue. Upstage of the thrust, dock-inspired platforms and walls form a giant heart. The production isn't really anachronistic; the characterizations and costumes are period (although everyone sports bare feet to avoid slipping). Unfortunately, why they chose to set the play in a pool is not really made clear; the wet envisioning of Illyria doesn't really illuminate much in the text. Rourke and her actors find brilliant ways to use the water, though, including water-wings, inflated pants and dousing the first few rows. So, with the exception of an accidental trip or two, the pier on top of a (Navy) pier never actually detracts from the play in a significant way.
Although the soggy setting doesn't necessarily reveal anything new about Shakespeare's words, the performances revel in the language. Aldridge makes a fascinating Olivia, ranging from frosty indifference to giddiness. Her unexpected choices allow her to join in the fun. The adorable Beck navigates Viola beautifully, often appealing to the audience for support regarding her bizarre situation. The gang of drunks, knaves and fools is a major joy of this production. Scott Jaeck's boisterous convincing performance as the swaggering, constantly inebriated Sir Toby Belch makes one wonder what liquid exactly is in the mugs, and Ross Lehman is hysterical as the fool Feste, who seems very aware that he may actually be the wisest person in Illyria. A delightfully narcissistic Larry Yando is their fun-squashing victim Malvolio. The motley crew functions beautifully as a group and provides a ridiculous subplot to the considerably more sober romantic confusion.
A few of the moments fall flat because actors are timid to trust the inherent humor in the language and push the comedy too hard. Dan Kenney as the blockheaded Andrew Aguecheek is one of the guiltiest, although he makes up for it somewhat whenever he trips into the pool.
Rourke's soaked imagining of Illyria isn't too crazy of a concept; it does work way better than setting it in outer space or in the '80s. However, the supposed metaphor of the water is never very clear; it doesn't really function as some sort of transformative, mysterious or magical element. Luckily, Twelfth Night is a fun script, and splashing around in water is really fun. What Rourke does prove is that pool parties, even Renaissance-era ones, are always a blast.
Twelfth Night is showing at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, 800 E. Grand Ave., until June 7. Ticket prices and times vary. Visit
www.chicagoshakes.com or call (312) 595-5600 for more information.
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