Twelfth Night

When the Harvard Freshman Dramatic Club settles down and has a good time with Twelfth Night, it has a very good time indeed. Some parts of the show, however, take life too seriously, and there is evidence of over-direction. In the raucous, low humor, when the players are spontaneous and fresh, Twelfth Night is very funny; when the resolution of its many complications unfolds, it tends to be strained and reaching for something which isn't there.

The play itself, a magnificent joke, was an admirable first choice for the freshman because its dialogue is fast and free. The two sub-plots, involving preposterous schemes to make fools of Malvolio, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Viola, are very quick and it is here that the players show a comic enthusiasm which should have been sustained throughout the production. Director S. Heilpern Randall, with his good sense of the Shakespearean line, exploits the complete ludicrousness of the situation by treating it colloquially. In the rapid cross-fire of jokes in the garden and duel scenes, one is not at all conscious of the director's work, which seems at other times to be painfully overt.

The play begins to lag when the slap-stick is over. Randall, who himself plays the part of Malvolio, has turned the obvious solution of mistaken identities and misconceived ideas into minor melodrama at times. This converts Malvolio, actually a man of simple vanity and self-love, into a deep and muddled man. While it leads to great exploration of his character, underscoring of Malvolio's role seems disconcerting because he is actually superficial and should not arouse any real sympathy. Initially Malvolio's frustrations are good fun in the bawdy pattern of the designs against him, but later his quasipathos contributes much to the dragging pace of the latter part of the production.

The success of the play's low comedy is due mainly to the freshness of Roger Moldovan, Thomas Teal, and Judith Gilmartin, as Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Maria, the wench, respectively. Moldovan's Cyrano de Bergerac nose is unnecessary to show that he is a sot, but this does not detract from his relaxed, happily debauched portrayal. Teal's Augecheek borders on an elongated Jerry Lewis, and is very funny, dithering, and lovable. Miss Gilmartin, beguiling and spirited, ably completes their juvenile comradery.

Since Viola both deceives people and is deceived herself, she must reflect emotional change with the shift in her situation. Her countenance wavers between a grin and a pout, but it never really communicates honest feeling. She seems, however, warm-hearted and lithe, and is quite consistent. Feste, the Jester, played by Eugene Gervasi, moves and gesticulates very well, though his throaty, stilted speech is perhaps affected. Marcellus Winston, as Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, mouths his lines in a monotone and seems insensible of what he is saying.

Twelfth Night has used an odd assortment of music to provide transition between scenes. While it helps to keep the intervals short, much is heavy and inappropriate, and one wonders whether it is needed at all. Costumes are quite suitable, and the settings and lighting by George Spelvin are adequate if necessarily crude because of the show's limited budget.

The entire cast of Twelfth Night is so well rehearsed that it may have lost some of its original enthusiasm, and the tricks of a professional polish sometimes catch it up in itself. The freshman group's first effort has merit however, when it's kept fresh.