Sandra Oh, as Olivia (left) and Lupita Nyong’o, as the disguised Viola, meet in Illyria in a scene from Twelfth Night, which is reopening the newly refurbished Delacorte Theater.
After a year’s hiatus, Free Shakespeare in the Park triumphantly returns to the revitalized Delacorte Theater with Saheem Ali’s multicultural staging of Twelfth Night. With wit, music, and romance seamlessly entwined, this timeless comedy revels in love’s unexpected twists and delightful disguises.
Ali’s production is distinguished by a star-studded cast, led by real-life siblings Lupita Nyong’o and Junior Nyong’o as the fraternal twins Viola and Sebastian, separated by a shipwreck at sea. The plot brims with playful confusion: Viola and Sebastian each believe the other drowned, but both come ashore in Illyria, where mistaken identities spiral into a whirlwind of tangled affections and comic chaos.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (left) portrays Sir Andrew Aguecheek and John Ellison Conlee is Sir Toby Belch.
Their inspired pairing brings authentic warmth to their eventual reunion, punctuated by a secret handshake and a brief exchange in Swahili—the national language of Kenya, where Junior was born and Lupita spent much of her childhood.
Twelfth Night is the only one of Shakespeare’s plays with an alternative title, and this production takes it literally. Maruti Evans’s whimsical set features giant three-dimensional letters spelling “What You Will,” a bold set piece forming the background, which also doubles as an entranceway for cast members stepping into Illyria’s world of fantasy and wish fulfillment.
Ali opens the show not with Shakespeare’s first scene but with a prologue, as Feste (Moses Sumney), playing a guitar and backed by a string quartet, sings an excerpt from the “All the world’s a stage” speech from As You Like It. He casts an immediate spell, not only by his grainy tenor voice, but because he’s seeing the audience as performers in their daily lives.
In Evans’s Illyria trapdoors abound, sending characters whooshing into view and shifting scenes in the blink of an eye. Early in Act I, Viola (Nyong’o) and the sea captain who rescued her (Joe Tapper) suddenly materialize on Illyria’s shores. The focus isn’t on the salty brine but on their language: their first exchange begins in Swahili before slipping into English, as Viola poignantly contemplates her new life as an accidental immigrant: “And what should I do in Illyria? / My brother he is in Elysium.”
Khris Davis (second from right) plays the lovesick Duke Orsino, surrounded by members of his court in Twelfth Night. Photographs by Joan Marcus.
Though mourning Sebastian’s supposed death, Viola, encouraged by the captain, disguises herself as a young male page, Cesario, and heads to Duke Orsino’s court in search of work. Soon favored by Orsino, Cesario is tasked with wooing Countess Olivia (the elegant Sandra Oh is the personification of Orsino’s “marble-breasted tyrant”) on his behalf—only to find herself caught in her own unspoken longing.
Orsino (Khris Davis) enters with the flair of George Foreman, reciting the famous opening line—“If music be the food of love, play on…”—while lifting barbells. It’s a clever touch, underlining his vanity and self-absorption. Despite professing his love for Olivia, Orsino seems more enamored with the idea of love than its reality, enlisting Viola/Cesario (who has secretly fallen for him) as his emissary rather than pursuing Olivia himself.
The production’s intricate subplot shines through the performances of five revelers who gleefully plot against Olivia’s pompous steward Malvolio (Peter Dinklage), hoping to drive him mad with a love letter prank. Sir Toby Belch (John Ellison Conlee), Olivia’s boisterous, hard-drinking uncle, leads the mischief, aided by his hapless sidekick, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a rich, scatterbrained suitor to Olivia. Feste joins in the social crucifixion, mocking Malvolio and later impersonating a priest named Sir Topas who visits an imprisoned and distraught Malvolio.
Malvolio: Who calls there?
Feste: Sir Topas the curate, who comes to visit Malvolio the lunatic.
Daphne Rubin-Vega portrays Olivia’s maid Maria, and Peter Dinklage is Olivia’s steward Malvolio.
But it’s Maria (Daphne Rubin-Vega)—sharp, sly, and merciless—who masterminds the forged love letter from Olivia to Malvolio, remarking with cold satisfaction that her prank might drive Malvolio mad and remove him from his post: “The house will be the quieter.”
Olivia though far from mean-spirited, initially appears distant—mourning her brother’s death and reveling in her own authority. Yet as the play unfolds, Oh brings more vulnerability to the character. Olivia’s sudden infatuation with the disguised Viola sparks both comedy and self-reflection, prompting her wry admission: “Even so quickly may one catch the plague?” Matters grow even more tangled when Olivia meets Sebastian—Viola’s double—and he accepts her marriage proposal. In Illyria, it seems, even the most accidental unions can find a happy ending.
At its heart, this Twelfth Night thrives on its luminous performances—from the Nyong’o siblings’ tender connection to Dinklage’s deeply affecting portrayal of Malvolio. Twelfth Night is widely viewed as Shakespeare’s farewell to festive comedy. Under Ali’s lively direction, one gets to experience this masterpiece with a modern vibe under the stars in Central Park.
The Public Theater’s Twelfth Night plays through Sept. 14 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Evening performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; there are no performances on Sept. 2 or 3. For tickets and more information, visit publictheater.org.
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Director: Saheem Ali
Set: Maruti Evans
Lighting: Bradley King
Costumes: Oana Botez
Music & Orchestrations: Michael Thurber
Choreography: Darrell Grand Moul Trie
Fight Direction: Thomas Schall
