BWW Reviews: The Seeing Place Theater Tackles Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT

The Seeing Place Theater bites off a little more than they can chew with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, but this talented ensemble sees it through.

The Seeing Place produced John Osborne's edgy mid-century classic LOOK BACK IN ANGER last fall, and I was expecting more of the same gritty, realist fare from them - - only because they're so good at it. The actors performed Shakespeare in much the same way they might have attacked a more modern piece - sincerely and without affectation - but with varied results. Some of this might have had to do with length. The play clocked in at an unwieldy three hours (to be fair, I think it may have been running longer than usual the night I saw it.) Nevertheless, The Seeing Place brought their characteristic (and indefatigable) enthusiasm to the piece. Standouts included Artistic Director BranDon Walker as Malvolio, Associate Artistic Director Anna Marie Sell as Olivia, Erin Cronican as Maria, and the inventive Nathan Ramos as Andrew Aguecheek. The beautiful original music (composed by Steve Przybylski) was a also a highlight.

However, the production suffered from cluttered staging and a set that failed to match the imagination of its players - or even, at times, accommodate them physically. The sheer number of actors on the small stage slowed the comedic pacing that is so vital to a Shakespearean comedy. But of course, these elements are beyond the The Seeing Place's control. The company's biggest problem was a lack of aesthetic cohesion. The numerous set pieces, costumes, and props seemed to belong to different time periods - WWII-looking military uniforms met modern-cut suits - at no point in the show was it exactly clear when this TWELFTH NIGHT was set. I do not want to point out the shortcomings of the resources a theater has available to it - especially a small one that must, by necessity, gather materials cheaply, if not for free - but this production would have benefitted from a much simpler rendering with a few well-chosen pieces to aid in the storytelling. When Shakespeare is performed without visual specificity, it becomes incredibly difficult to understand - or, at the very least, errant props provide an enormous distraction.

That being said, this troupe is at its best when unencumbered. Confined naturalism (as in LOOK BACK IN ANGER) or in this case, a more theatrical rendering of TWELFTH NIGHT would allow The Seeing Place to showcase their greatest asset which is the talent of its ensemble.

Photo Credit: Tasha Straley