Twelfth Night Kicks Off The New Year at Trinity Rep

Shakespeare's topsy-turvy tale of love and laughter runs January 29-March 7

PROVIDENCE – Love's a funny business in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night – the madcap romantic comedy ringing in the new year at Trinity Rep. Brian McEleney, the award-winning director who brought local audiences to their feet with recent productions of Hamlet, Our Town and A Raisin in the Sun will helm the production. Twelfth Night opens in previews on January 29 and runs through March 7. Tickets are on sale now at the Trinity Rep box office at 201 Washington Street; by phone at (401)-351-4242; and online at www.trinityrep.com.

Brian McEleney will be reprising his role as the fastidious butler Malvolio – a role he’s taken on three times before – in addition to his spot in the director’s chair. “Taking on this double-duty is something I have never done before,” confesses the actor/director. “It will be a wonderful challenge for me and for the acting company. I love this company, I trust them, I value our work together - for me to be one  among equals, instead of the guy sitting behind the table, it’s all for the better!”

Shipwrecked and separated from her twin brother, Viola (Cherie Corinne Rice, Brown/Trinity ‘10) must disguise herself as a man to survive. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, she falls for her new boss, the Duke, played by resident company member Joe Wilson, Jr. Meanwhile, the Duke pines for Olivia (Annie Worden, Brown/Trinity ‘10), who has sworn off men – until she meet Viola’s male alter-ego, “Cesario.” This lover’s knot gets more tangled when Viola's twin brother, Sebastian (also played by Cherie Corinne Rice), arrives in Illyria and is mistaken for "Cesario."

Meanwhile, the locals in Illyria are enraptured in the drunken debauchery of the Twelfth Night festival. Olivia's hard-drinking uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Fred Sullivan, Jr.), carouses with Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Stephen Thorne), Maria (Anne Scurria), the clown Feste (Stephen Berenson) and Fabian (Mauro Hantman), much to the chagrin of Olivia's uptight butler, Malvolio (Brian McEleney). Rounding out the cast of characters are Brown/Trinity Rep MFA student actors Christopher Berry ‘11, Jamey Grisham ‘11, and Rich Williams ’11. Spurned suitors, servants with delusions of grandeur, and cross dressing confusion – it’s a hot mess that’s likely to put someone in the madhouse.

Director McEleney is quick to point out that - as in the case in many of Shakespeare’s comedies - much of the play’s humor is about mistaken identity and gender. In this case, a woman dresses as a man and discovers experiences forbidden to the fairer sex in this society. He explains: “People fall head over heels in love without knowing that the objects of their affection are not what they appear to be. There’s a great deal of confusion among the characters, and if the audience is slightly confused at times, that will add to the fun. We’re meant to be thinking ’Oh wait, she’s a man, no, now she’s a woman dressed as a man…’ ”

• Twelfth Night Kicks Off The New Year at Trinity Rep
• Limited Spaces Still Open for the Drama Circle's Twelfth Night Discussion Series at Trinity Rep