HELENA – Carroll College is delighted to present one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known and popular comedies, Twelfth Night, running March 2-5 and 9-11, in the FLEX Theatre at Carroll College. Featuring a cast of Carroll theatre students, the show is directed by Carroll alumna and current instructor, Julia Harris.
Twelfth Night, or What You Will, is a famous comedy that centers around romance and mistaken identity, with a specific focus on unrequited love and gender roles in society. Young Viola is separated from her twin brother Sebastian and disguises herself as a man to find employment in the house of Duke Orsino, with whom she rapidly falls in love. Unfortunately for her, the lovesick Duke has his affections firmly set on melancholy Olivia, a Countess who then falls in love with Viola in her male guise of “Cesario.” Into this world already filled with mischief and misunderstanding comes the comedic trio of Maria, Toby Belch, and Andrew Aguecheek, determined once and for all to get the best of the sour steward Malvolio. Hailed as one of the greatest comedic plays ever written, Twelfth Night remains fresh and relevant in our world today as it explores the divisions between class and gender and offers an empathetic and humorous look into the realm of misguided love.
Carroll College’s version of this timeless tale takes place in Kingston, Jamaica, circa 1700 A.D., giving the cast and crew the opportunity to delve into a bit of sailing history and pirate lore to flesh out the world of the play. We are especially eager to share with the audience our selection of sea shanties that are performed in this show. Twelfth Night has many songs written into its script, and Shakespeare would have used the popular music of his day for the tunes, so in keeping with the chosen time period and locale, the cast learned several shanties, some already famous and others much lesser known. Another unique aspect of our experience putting this show together is our mostly female cast. In Shakespeare's time period, women were not allowed to perform onstage in England, so we have flipped the convention of male actors playing female roles with women now portraying our leading men. We look forward to welcoming our audience into this rich and colorful vision Julia Harris has brought to life.
Details:
- The show will be performed March 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7 pm), and March 5 at 2:30 pm (doors open at 2 pm).
- General admission tickets are $15, non-Carroll student and senior tickets are $10, and $5 for children (ages 2-12) and individuals with a Carroll ID.
- Tickets can be purchased through the Carroll College theatre webpage, www.carroll.edu/theatre or at the door.
- Parking is free for theatre guests in the Campus Center parking lot just off Lyndale, and the theatre is fully ADA accessible via the east entrance of the Campus Center.
- The show will also be available to stream online throughout its run for anyone unable to attend in person.
For more information contact:
Amber Barnes
Theatre Department
Carroll College
ambarnes@carroll.edu