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Victorian Players Theater takes on ‘Twelfth Night’
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Amy Anne Kibler loves Shakespeare and – not surprisingly – is a traditionalist when it comes to staging the Bard’s plays.
She is directing “Twelfth Night,” which opens Friday at Victorian Players Theater. Outside of a few minor abridgements of the script to make the show tighter and more in tune with modern theater, it will be as Elizabethan as the Victorian gets.
“I like to make it so people understand it,” said Kibler.
The mirthful love story of mistaken identities is set in the fictitious kingdom of Illyria, where a nobleman named Orsino (Alex Keane) is pining for Lady Olivia (Lindie Schwarten).
Meanwhile, a young, aristocratic-born woman named Viola (Jeanine Rees) is swept onto the Illyrian shore after her ship wrecks. For safety, she assumes the identity of her twin brother, Sebastian (Vijay Welch), whom she assumes has drowned.
Calling herself Cesario, she finds employment in Orsino’s household. Olivia falls in love with her, believing she is a man – which completes the love triangle.
Three members of Kibler’s own family have roles in “Twelfth Night.”
Her husband, Eric, plays Olivia’s rowdy uncle Sir Toby; son Jeremiah plays Toby’s foolish friend Andrew Aguecheek; and daughter Elsie plays the role of Feste, the clever clown of Olivia’s household.
“They all love Shakespeare, too,” she said of her family.
Also in the cast are Jenna Cintavey as Maria, Olivia’s lady in waiting; Terry Shears as Malvolio, the dour house steward; and Nick Berger and John Thompson, who each play multiple minor roles.
Victorian Players president Marlene Strollo created the costumes.
The production moves quickly and finishes in a little over two hours, including intermission, said Kibler. She has directed “Twelfth Night” before in outdoor settings, but this is her first time helming it indoors.
Before moving to Youngstown where she is an educator, Kibler worked for professional theaters in Spokane, Wash., and Virginia Beach, Va., as a stage manager, and also worked as a production manager and costumer at the Youngstown Playhouse.