Shipwrecked and alone on an island, Viola concludes that her family is dead and her only chance for survival is to put her hair in a ponytail, thus convincing everyone shes a man. She puts herself in the service of Duke Orsino, who sends her to court Lady Olivia on his behalf. Lady Olivia, fooled by the ponytail and evidently attracted to effete men, falls madly in love with Viola. Enter Sebastian, Violas twin, whos alive and well and looks exactly like Viola except that he really is a man. Identity confusion ensues. Directed by Amelia Meckler, Twelfth Night is a charming production with an excellent cast. With all a parks acoustic challenges, its hardly an ideal performance location, yet the setting feels perfectly natural for the play, and Meckler has used the space as well as she possibly could. The productions music, directed by Andy Clawson, augments the shows whimsical entertainment value. BRENT ARONOWITZ Runs in repertory with Hamlet in various area parks through Aug. 16, presented by GreenStage. Mostly 7 p.m. Fri., 3 & 7 p.m. Sat.-Sun., plus a few Thursdays; see Web site for full itinerary.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: July 11. Continues through Aug. 16, 2008
