Twelfth Night

It is such a thrill to see a play that you have seen several times before and see something totally new!
Des McAnuff's production managed it. Shakespeare did not write musicals, but somehow McAnuff managed to find enough in the music to make the play a musical. Who knew that Ben Carlson was a great singer?
This production brought several of the secondary characters to the forefront. Feste, played by Ben Carlson, became a lead. Usually he is an enigmatic figure that wanders around in the background making cryptic comments. In this production he drives a lot of the action.
The last production of the play that we saw carried the persecution of Malvolio to a point that made it seem cruel. This version maintains a level of jest that keeps it reasonable. Tom Rooney as Malvolio was funny and sad. And absolutely great.
Brian Dennehey was a lovely Sir Toby Belch, but was completely overwhelmed by Steven Ouimette as Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Was it a wardrobe malfunction or was it deliberate? who cares, it was just another note of hilarious business that made Ouimette's performance just about perfect.
Th main characters were good, including in particular Suzy Jane Hunt who was the stand by for Andrea Runge. What is a standby and how does it differ from an understudy? No idea , but she was great and clearly enjoyed the audience recognition at the end.
Cara Ricketts was definitely worth noting as Maria, and Sara Topham and Mike Shara remain favorites of mine and turned in solid performances as Olivia and Orsino.