Benjamin James in Player’s production of Twelfth Night.
Photo courtesy of Meg Foley.
When a person thinks of Shakespeare, a few things come to mind: puffy shirts paired with tights, ostentatious language and the cramped desks we slouched over in our high school English classes as we painstakingly attempted to understand this language.
However, the Montclair State Players, a class one SGA club, changes this mindset with their performance of Shakespeare’s classic comedy “Twelfth Night.” With the main character wearing a flannel and the sprinkling in of modern fist bumps, the Players performed a vintage comedy in a way that was more modern and digestible fashion for a younger audience.
The delivery of the opening soliloquy, with the famous line, “If music be the food of love, play on,” set the tone of the play with Benjamin James as an impeccable Duke Orsino: cool, collected, but conceited. A true heart-throb.
The scenes that I personally waited for included Rachel Rizzo as Feste, the fool. She added her own flair to the part by interacting with the audience and acting hilarious ad-libbed bits, including her shrieking interpretations of the choruses.
The two stand-out performances came from Brenna Fitzmaurice, who played Viola and later doubled as the gender-bent version, Caesario, and Judy Tounsi as Lady Olivia. Both performed their roles with the perfect balance of drama and humor.
I thoroughly enjoyed each cast member’s performance, and to put the cherry on top, the players were collecting donations for Alzheimer’s research: a truly noble pursuit.
On top of that, the play was easily accessible in the commuter lounge and free to all students. The only thing I have left to say to the players is: play on
