I honestly go back and forth on which of Shakespeare’s comedies are my favorite- Twelfth Night or Much Ado About Nothing. I love both but Twelfth Night is probably more madcap of the two. They are both a lot of fun and I will jump at any chance to see either. This year’s Utah Shakespeare Festival trip concluded with seeing Twelfth Night and it did not disappoint. What a rollicking good time and one I highly recommend.

My favorite part of this production lies with the lead performance of Caitlin Wise as Viola. She was also terrific in the USF‘s See How They Run as Ms Skillion, which I didn’t get the chance to review but is very funny. She throws her entire body into the comedy, and I really admire her complete transformation to the roles she plays. She also knows just how to time a gag or response letting things get uncomfortable with an extended reaction or large response (which is made more funny by how petite she is!) Kayland Jordan is a nice contrast to Wise as Olivia and she plays the entire role very straight and serious which is needed for this type of farce to work.

Of course Malvolio is a key character in Twelfth Night and Rodney Lizcano does a good job of making us feel sorry for what the poor pompous man is being put through. It adds to the humor to see someone so stuck up get their comeuppance.

All of the actors did a good job interacting with the audience and breaking the fourth wall on occasion but my favorite is Gabriel W Elmore as the jester Feste (original music composer and sound designer John Nobori.) He sings multiple songs including one to an audience member named Margarita. He did a lot with a more minor character and never failed to make me laugh with his expressive performance. The rest of the team united against Malvolio are very funny with Blake Henri playing Toby Belch, Kathryn Tkel as Maria (they have great chemistry) and John Harrell as Andrew. I appreciated little details like what Henri does with his wigs throughout the performance. It’s very funny.

The production of Twelfth Night is directed by festival director John Di Antonio and he has kept the staging simple with an Italian background that makes sense for the story. This is how I prefer my Shakespeare. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with a production- just let the classic work do its job is my opinion and he does that here. The biggest unique aspect is having Wise enter the action on aerial wraps which are to symbolize the storm that she’s tossed around in. This is a fun way to start out the story.

Just 2 seats below me the night I attended there were 2 young girls attending with their Grandpa. He was concerned at first they wouldn’t understand what is happening. This is one of the great aspects of Twelfth Night is that it is probably the easiest Shakespeare play to follow. It makes it an excellent introduction to his work and one you can take the entire family to and all enjoy. I highly recommend this fun production at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. It is running through September 5th and tickets can be purchased here.

Twelfth Night is Shakespeare’s 21st play. It is written in between As You Like It and Hamlet around 1599-1600. It is one of his most quotable plays with classic lines like “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”

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