On Feb. 6, 7 and 8 in the Black Box Theatre, Middleton High School (MHS) Theatre put on a spectacular performance of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” co-directed by returning Shakespeare director Tim Gittings and MHS alum Phoebe Miller. 

“Twelfth Night” is a production full of romance, switched identities and humor. The story begins with Duke Orsino, who pines after the affections of Countess Olivia. Meanwhile, the members of Olivia’s household – which include Sir Toby, a drunken uncle; Sir Andrew, his halfwitted friend; Maria, Olivia’s gentlewoman; Malvolio, the steward and Feste, the entertainment – all keep the house buzzing with drama and amusement. 

When the other members of the household grow annoyed with Malvolio for spoiling their fun, they craft a cruel prank, convincing him that Olivia is in love with him. This leads to Malvolio dressing and acting strangely to keep her interest, which gets him declared a madman and confined to a dark room. 

Concurrently, Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian, have been separated after a horrendous shipwreck. Viola disguises herself as a boy named Cesario and begins to work for Orsino. 

Orsino quickly grows fond of Viola – who he believes to be Cesario – and Viola falls in love with Orsino, but knows it would be difficult to pursue him. Orsino sends Viola to Olivia in an attempt to court Olivia, but instead, Olivia falls madly in love with Viola’s masculine alter ego.

Then, Sebastian arrives, and Olivia mistakes him for her crush, “Cesario.” Sebastian is not opposed to Olivia’s advances, as she is rich and beautiful, and they end up getting married. 

Later, Orsino and Viola – still dressed as Cesario – go to Olivia’s house, where Sebastian also appears. Once they are all in the same place together, Viola is gleeful that her brother is safe, but the truth about the twins, and about her disguise, is now out. When Orsino discovers that his special gentleman is really a woman, he realizes that he loves Viola. 

Amidst the chaos, Malvolio enters, freed from the madhouse When he discovers that Olivia’s love for him was just a cruel prank from the house staff, he storms off, leaving the blissful couples to their happy endings

Despite such a complex plot, MHS Theatre put on an impressive rendition of this captivating story. The talent of the cast and crew was shined brightly through their acting, costuming, set design and more. 

Each actor embodied their character very well, despite the complexity of the Shakespearean lines.

“When I first got the script, I was a little bit afraid of how I was going to learn all of the lines,” said senior Rebekah Stine, whose engaging performance as Sir Toby brought humor to the production.

“All of my lines were in verse which made it harder to learn,” said senior Santi Picasso who played Duke Orsino. “They were full of deep meaning.”. 

The difficult text was no challenge too big for the actors and even less so for the returning Shakespeare director, Tim Gittings. Gittings has directed Shakespeare productions at MHS for years. His experience with Shakespeare goes beyond MHS through his job as a professional actor at American Players Theatre.

“It’s great to be directed by someone who knows exactly what they’re doing,” Picasso said. “He brings his own ideas into it and I can always see the passion behind everything he does.”

“[Gittings] was very clear about what he wanted for the costumes and has great insights. I found it very helpful in bringing the story to life.”Jodie Zuk, a senior on the costume crew for the show, said.

Gittings’ involvement in the show was one of many reasons why students loved the experience, along with MHS Theatre’s ever-welcoming energy. 

For some cast and crew members, “Twelfth Night” was their first show with MHS Theatre. Marlee Pavelski, a sophomore played an outstanding Maria as her debut. 

“The production and being a part of this helped me get used to high school, as I am still in my underclassman years,” Pavelski said.

The audience adored the cast of “Twelfth Night” not only for their outstanding acting, but also for their ability to perfectly incorporate humor into their roles. Material by Shakespeare is very dramatic, but MHS Theatre made “Twelfth Night” accessible to all audience members, using humor to bring people together. 

“Humor made us feel understood by the audience,” Picasso said. 

Stine commented on the role physical humor plays in Shakespeare, saying that “the physical comedy is very important, especially with such complex Shakespearean language.”

However, all of the fun and lightheartedness of the production did not overshadow the underlying themes and questions surrounding the story of “Twelfth Night.” 

“It definitely explores a lot with gender roles and sexuality, since the love triangle is centered around people thinking Viola is a man and her actually being a woman,” said Isa Killian, a junior who played Viola exceptionally well. “It’s a fun and lighthearted plot but it also explores some deeper themes and strong emotions.” 

From bringing the script to life and exploring themes within the text to appreciating the physical beauty of the show through stage crew design, MHS Theatre’s rendition of “Twelfth Night” was absolutely extraordinary. The cast and crew truly knew how to bring Shakespeare to modern audiences. The Black Box was flooded with excitement and the audience was enchanted throughout the entire production. 

MHS Theatre will continue to fascinate fans as they take on the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” which they will perform in April.