Twelfth Night, or What You Will

Twelfth Night, or What You Will was my first time experiencing Free Shakespeare in the Park. This is the first show back at The Delacorte Theater, in the middle of Central Park, after the venue received a major renovation. The venue is truly beautiful. The staff members were also very friendly.

With Twelfth Night, like with many Shakespeare plays, there is a balancing act between how long you make the play and how deep you go with the story. This play could likely be anywhere between 90 minutes and five hours long. The last production I saw earlier this year was a tad under three hours long, which just felt a bit on the long side (but was still very good and enjoyable). I see so many shows that I am always thrilled when a show is under 2 hours and without an intermission. This production is 1 hour 55 minutes long with no intermission, which is a nice sweet spot. Some critics wish it were longer with more depth, but I argue this length is just right, as this show is fine as a comedy.

I knew going in that this was a standout cast, so the surprises for me were the set, the costumes, and the special effects. The set reveals itself as far more complex than you expect as the show progresses, and this was such a pleasant surprise given it is an outdoor venue. The costumes are absolutely stunning. And the special effects are similarly surprising given the venue. This production exceeded my expectations in so many areas.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson has been on my bucket list for a while to see perform (check!), and he was very funny and entertaining as Andrew Aguecheek. I love Peter Dinklage as a TV and movie star, but those skills do not always transfer to live stage, so I was cautious with my expectations of Peter. Peter was so excellent on stage that I quickly realized he is not new to stage; I confirmed he indeed is an experienced stage actor, not just a film actor, and it shows in his performance. Like Jesse, Peter was especially skilled in his physical acting, too. This entire cast is so loaded with talent that I am not going to mention everyone; the cast was balanced, and each performer was excellent. It is such a treat when there is not a standout performer, due to the entire cast being so good.

I will call out director Saheem Ali for such great choices throughout the show. I especially enjoyed how much music was in the production. This may have been my first Shakespeare in the Park, but it will not be my last. I will attempt to make this an annual occurrence now.

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