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Director brings ‘Twelfth Night’ to Trumbull New Theatre stage
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Alyssa Connelly stars as Viola, and John Timmins stars as the Captain who make it to shore just after a shipwreck in Shakespeare's comedy “Twelfth Night.”
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‘TWELFTH’ ROLES: From left, Tom Schaffer as Sir Toby, Mike McGrail as Sir Aguecheek and Sophie West as Maria.
NILES — Tom Hitmar was a drama coach for many years, first at Western Reserve and Harding high schools in Warren, then at Lakeview High in Cortland.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that the recently retired Hitmar preferred the challenge of Shakespeare when he proposed to direct a play at Trumbull New Theatre.
Hitmar will helm “Twelfth Night,” the much-loved comedy, which opens Friday at TNT and runs for three weekends.
Shakespeare’s plays, with their Elizabethan language and long passages, are more commonly staged on college campuses than community theaters. They can be daunting for audiences — and tricky for actors.
“They are both easier and harder,” said Hitmar. “Easier in that because these plays are so well-known, there is a wealth of resource material and commentary to help you understand it.”
Learning the lines can be difficult, but Hitmar shared a secret: “Some of us feel that because the language is so unusual, there are more cues in the lines to make them easier to remember.”
The verbosity causes another challenge. “Shakespeare is famous for writing long speeches,” said Hitmar, “and one of the problems a director faces is that when one actor talks for a minute and a half, what do you do with the other people on the stage?”
Hitmar has directed Shakespeare plays before, but never “Twelfth Night.” He has long been involved at TNT and began looking for a play to direct there after his retirement from Lakeview.
“I noticed they hadn’t done Shakespeare for a long time,” he said. “l didn’t want to do a drama, and I settled upon this one.”
He submitted it to TNT’s play review committee and got the green light. The last play Hitmar directed at TNT was “Jesus Christ, Superstar,” back in the 1980s.
“Twelfth Night” is considered one of Shakespeare’s most easily understood works.
The story begins with a shipwreck off the fictional land of Illyria. A young woman named Viola survives but believes that her twin brother has drowned. To protect herself, she dons the guise of a man and becomes a page in the service of Orsino, the Duke.
Orsino sends Viola — who goes by Cesario when dressed as a man — to talk to Olivia, whom he is wooing. But Olivia instead is attracted to Cesario. Viola, meanwhile, develops feelings for Orsino.
The title refers to the 12th night of Christmas, which in those days was the end of the holiday revels and the final chance to let loose. The twelfth night is Jan. 5, so it ties in to the present in that regard.
Shakespeare had set Illyria in the near east, in the area of Greece or Turkey. But the comedy is not tied to any location, and TNT’s version is using costumes of the late Renaissance period.
Hitmar said that although the characters are written as allegories for themes, “we made them into real people.” He also said his production involves fencing, pratfalls “and lots of physical stuff.”
The cast includes Tom Schaffer, Denise Glinatsis Bayer, Alyssa Connelly, Richard Boccia, Ron Wolford and Alan Purdum.