A new production of Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night" at Cornell, adapted and directed by Professor David Feldshuh, melds the traditional play with music from the Roaring 1920s Jazz Age.
"Twelfth Night" features a cast of 22, including 14 actors, a singing chorus, dancers and the onstage presence of professional jazz musician, Mike Carbone, on the saxophone and flute.
The show will take place in the Kiplinger Theatre in the Schwartz Center on:
- Friday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
"Twelfth Night" begins with a shipwreck, and the characters finding themselves in the land of Illyria. In Feldshuh’s production Illyria is a dreamscape inspired by the surrealist painter, Rene Magritte, "a place where identity is fluid, love is passionately unpredictable and anything can happen."
“Although Illyria is filled with comic characters and music, it’s surrounded by a world at war and darker forces are at work in between the comedy,” Feldshuh said. “'Twelfth Night' is a complex comedy. Practical jokes become cruel and humiliation becomes a weapon. Shakespeare’s talent is to find a way to reflect our real world, a balance of light and dark.”
“' Twelfth Night' has captured, delighted and intrigued audiences in a dizzying variety of productions for more than 400 years,” Feldshuh said. “Exploring this extraordinary play with dedicated Cornell students in collaboration with professional theatre artists has been a rich, dramatic adventure.”
Free tickets are available here.
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