UW Oshkosh’s rendition of “Twelfth Night” directed by Jane Purse-Wiedenhoeft, put the humor that hides in Shakespeare’s work on full display.
The play was picked out last March with Purse-Wiedenhoeft having worked on the research throughout the summer and fall. The cast started rehearsals in late February.
Purse-Wiedenhoeft said she wanted to bring a more modernized feel to this show.
“In this production, we are pretending that we are a touring theater company that has arrived in Oshkosh to perform on the UWO stage and celebrate Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night” or “What you Will” with local audiences,” she said. “This imaginary theater company has arrived at the theater late and is in the process of completing their preparations for the performance. Giving this added context to the production has given us the opportunity to have fun with how we tell the story without being glued to a historical time period.”
The production awarded two of the cast members, Jena Plutz, who played Viola/Cesario, and Luke Meister, who played as Feste the fool, nominations for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Meister also received a certificate of merit for composing the music for the songs that his character sang.
Plutz described the play as a comedic play by William Shakespeare.
“The story follows Viola, who has just survived a shipwreck where she thinks her brother has died,” she said. “She decides to disguise herself as a man (Cesario) and work for Count Orsino, who she falls in love with. Cesario gets sent as a messenger for Orsino to profess his love to Oliva. In doing so, Olivia falls in love with Cesario. Chaos ensues, but ultimately, the conflict resolves itself and [almost] everyone lives happily ever after.”
Julia Cain, who played Olivia, encourages people to interact with Shakespeare’s work more often.
“A lot of people like to shy away from Shakespeare because of the language, which I completely understand because I tend to do that as well,” she said. [But] “this show is a great stepping stone into the world of Shakespeare for someone who wants to learn more.”
The show ran from April 25 to the 28.
