Classical Actors Ensemble’s Twelfth Night is a delight

When I went to see the Classical Actors Ensemble’s “Twelfth Night,” directed by Joseph Papke and Samantha Fairchild at Lake of the Isles last Saturday, the encroaching puddles made the seating area a bit smaller than in past years, but the audience managed to huddle a bit closer together than usual and not go for a swim. 

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As Feste, David Michaeli looks a bit like Timothée Chalamet dressed up for his upcoming Bob Dylan biopic role, and serves as a witty troubadour in the story, leading a mix of classic rock medleys. Shakespeare’s original text has quite a few songs in it, which are replaced in this version by the likes of Cheap Trick, Buddy Holly and others.

CAE goes for an airy, light interpretation that emphasizes comic sensibility and broad humor. The scenes between Malvolio (Tom Conry), Toby Belch (Leif Jurgensen), Andrew Aguecheek (Brandon Herring) and Maria (Carin Leonard-Gorrill) are some of the most fun, in part because the crew goes for broke on the goofy factor in those scenes (helped along with Molly Smith’s costumes). 

The plot possibly doesn’t totally align with modern sensibilities around gender identity and same-sex attraction. Like many of Shakespeare’s plays, “Twelfth Night” concludes with a too-neatly tied up cis-heteronormative patriarchal ending, but there’s all sorts of delicious gender fluidity, homoeroticism, and gender role subversion that happens along the way to get there. The play has some of the most romantic lines and even sexy lines in Shakespeare but this “Twelfth Night” doesn’t really take any of that too seriously.

Tom Conry as Malvolio in “Twelfth Night.”
Tom Conry as Malvolio in “Twelfth Night.” Credit: MinnPost photo by Sheila Regan

Don’t think about it too much and enjoy the absurd ride. Also, don’t forget to bring a blanket or lawn chair. Thursday, July 11 at St. Clement’s Church, St. Paul, Friday, July 12 at Wolfe Park Amphitheater, St. Louis Park, Saturday, July 13 at Lake of the Isles, Minneapolis, Sunday, July 14 at MN Humanities Center, St. Paul, all performances at 7 p.m. (free). More information here

Sheila Regan

Sheila Regan is a Twin Cities-based arts journalist. She writes MinnPost’s twice-weekly Artscape column. She can be reached at [email protected].

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