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From David August's review on WeMakeMovies.org:
This enthusiastic, energetic and wonderfully physical production is delightfully self-aware of its theatricality. It is staged and blocked very well, and combined with an intimate space, they can brilliantly break the fourth wall and it doesn’t really feel like a break at all[...] It could be easy to get confused: a cast of 6 actors playing 15 characters between them portrays all of it. Hannah Pell wrote, “the relationships in Twelfth Night are some of Shakespeare’s richest and most complex, and double casting allowed us to explore deeper facets of those relationships.” Straightforward costumes and clear transitions between roles avoid much possible confusion, a credit to the actors and direction. One prime example is a pantomime fight played by brilliantly by Nate Grams and Hannah Pell that may be the best pantomime I’ve seen in Shakespeare since the Yorick scene in Peter Brook’s world tour of Hamlet. The cutting of the script is so smooth that I must assume it was cut only because the runtime is 90 minutes. Integration of the music played live by Liz Eldridge is inspired and at times beyond seamless. As a disguised Viola listens to the man she loves describe what love means to him, the music lends both lungs and breath to the scene exquisitely deepening it.
It is hard to see the seams in Christopher W. Jones’ direction since the way things are done makes the movement and blocking feel like the most natural choice. The storytelling and performances are strong. The show works very well as a whole, and under Shen Heckel’s deft stage management it feels almost spontaneous.
The cast is fun to watch, and they are sharp, skilled and talented across the board. Hayley Brown as Viola has warmth and accessibility that plays very well, especially in a space this size, and she lets the audience immediately connect with and root for her. Her speech as Viola after she is given a ring is exactly as it should be, and at the risk of using too much praise, it the word “sublime” to mind. Nate Grams makes Sebastian a great twin of Viola and the mischief his Sir Toby and Katelyn Myer’s Maria make is super fun and hits just the right tone as they torment people by tricking them into “deadly” combat and other shenanigans. Katelyn Myer’s Antonio has a directness and affection that made me instantly sympathetic and engaged, and she makes her Antonio seem like she’s changed bodies, not just costumes when she shifts from or to Maria. Chris Greenwood’s Orsino likewise seem that he must be like that in life and he isn’t even acting, until he shifts to Malvolio and reveals that he also seems like he isn’t acting in that role too.
Hannah Pell in 6 different roles not only makes each role look effortless, but also knows well how to let a joke land; her scene early on with Sir Toby and Sir Andrew shines particularly well. Mary Ellen Schneider’s Olivia is utterly endearing even as her Sir Andrew is perfectly farcical; her tremendous skill makes transitions and the contrast between them is so strong that our suspension of disbelief happens automatically. We also get to see what Orsino sees in her and her Olivia’s contrasting feelings (for Orsino and Cesario) make just right the Chekovian this-person-loves-that-person-who-loves-yet-another vibe. Mary Ellen Schneider pointed out, “several of the characters marry someone other than whom they had courted for the entirety of the play, which begs the questions: Are those characters happy with their lot in the end? Or do they yearn for their original love, pondering the path not chosen?” Whether the characters end well or not, the show succeeds. Bravo to everyone who made this production happen.
Audience Reviews & Backstage Instagrams:
