New Generation’s raucous production of ‘Twelfth Night’ turns Shakespeare into a 2000s-style rom-com romp

Romantic comedies don’t stand a chance against superheroes in today’s box office battles, but turn back the clock to the dawn of the 21st century, and you couldn’t go two weeks without another J.Lo wedding movie hitting the multiplex.

If early-aughts rom-coms are still your jam, but you want a more grown-up way to indulge your guilty pleasure, then New Generation Theatrical’s frequently funny refresh of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (or What You Will) will be right up your alley. And if you’re the reluctant partner of the person described above and are normally bored stiff by the Bard, this pop culture-powered production cheerfully embraces the idea that Billy’s plays were primarily created to entertain poor people and drunks.

Viola (Lorena Cohea) and her twin brother, Sebastian (Jullien Aponte), are separated in a shipwreck, so she dons male drag to play the messenger for stoner Orsino (Brett Shields, channeling Keanu circa Much Ado), who is failing to woo fashionista Olivia (Dayja Le’Chelle, single-handedly bringing back the bend & snap). Goofy gender confusion ensues when Olivia falls for Viola’s fake beard, but all ends more or less heteronormatively happily, except for the odious Walter Peck-esque Malvolio (Trevor Spence, hilariously unhinged).

Although Cohea’s Violet is charmingly adept with both quips and physical comedy, and Aponte is remarkably invested in his brief brotherly role, under directors Lauren Culver and Nicole Visco, this isn’t really the swapped siblings’ story.

Instead, this show belongs to Katheryn Roberson’s Feste the Fool, a razor-tongued harlequin who towers (literally and figuratively) over the men. She meets her comedic match in Meaghan Fenner, who incarnates the incorrigible Toby Belch as the lovechild of Divine and Jim Belushi. When joined by Keith Traver as a frat-boy Andrew Aguecheek, this raucous trio transforms any scene they’re in into an excuse for sidesplitting slapstick and anachronistic satire.

Visco’s vivid scenic, sonic and sartorial designs perfectly capture the era, and overall this entire production exudes energy and imagination. Unfortunately, it also feels like nobody involved can say no to an amusing bit, with an avalanche of well-executed buffoonish business building up to overshadow the main romantic plot until it’s almost too late. Compounding the tonal imbalance is a vocal one: Although almost everyone has impressively intelligible diction, not all project loud enough to fill the Rep’s cozy black box. Finally, while the production begins with a snappy pace, frequent scene changes — which inevitably involve a blackout and extended nostalgic needle drop, even when a quick cross-fade would suffice — conspire to constipate the pacing, making the show feel longer than it is.

My critiques aside, make no mistake: The audience I attended with howled throughout, and I freely admit to LOLing at ridiculous references to Razor scooters and The Rock’s WWE catchphrase. New Generation’s approach might not be considered “classy shit” by the institution on the opposite side of Loch Haven’s lawn, but this Twelfth Night makes a great gateway into Shakespeare for Gen Z groundlings.

[Editor’s note: Just after publication of this review, the Orlando Rep announced a name change to Orlando Family Stage. So as not to confuse theater patrons, we have opted not to change name references in this review, but will update our event and location listings going forward.] [location-1]
Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | or sign up for our RSS Feed

This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2023.