By Mike Donahue
Moapa Valley Progress
The Moapa Valley High School Theatre Department has taken on William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night or What You Will” and given the production a truly inimitable voice.
Whether The Bard turned over in his grave after last night’s opening show, or, as director Kenna Dalley hopes, laughed uproariously at the unique elements she introduced into the production, is open to debate. Either way, Moapa Valley audiences have two chances left, tonight and Thursday night, to see the show and decide for themselves.
“Our ultimate goal is to learn to communicate Shakespeare and have fun with it,” Dalley said. “I have a lot of seniors and I felt they could handle this (Twelfth Night). It’s definitely not ‘period’ Shakespeare but I tried to keep it in the 17th Century. The actors are really making the play their own.”
“Twelfth Night” is a romantic comedy in which love is the main focus. As is often the case, Shakespeare’s play examines and dissects the duality of the emotion. Although the principals eventually find one another and wind up in heady bliss, the road to the happy ending is fraught with happenstance, difficulty and, often, pain. Various main characters view love as a curse that only causes suffering.
The title is usually considered to be a reference to Epiphany or the twelfth night of the Christmas celebration (January 6). In Shakespeare’s day, this holiday was celebrated as a festival in which everything was turned upside down, much like the upside-down, chaotic world espoused in the play.
Overloaded with female actors, Dalley used them to cast some parts that were originally meant for males. Shakespeare probably would have been more than understanding since in his day, ALL the parts were play by male actors.
The young cast and crew of Dalley’s production handle the nuances of the play well and project those parts of the work that are as applicable today as when it was first written.
“Twelfth Night” can be seen tonight and Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the Moapa Valley High School theatre. Tickets are $4 for students and $6 for adults.
