Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 4 (part 2)

THE STORY SO FAR: In her disguise as Cesario, Viola has gone to woo Olivia for her master, Orsino (with whom Viola is secretly in love). Olivia says she can't love Orsino, but Orsino is kind of a jerk and won't take no for an answer. For some reason, Viola still loves him. 

The "Patience on a monument" monologue is another one of Viola's famous speeches. If you didn't make it through the whole episode of Playing Shakespeare that I shared with you on Tuesday, here it is again, so you can hear Dame Judi's take on it (around the 48-minute mark).

I'm not even joking when I say I watching bits of the Playing Shakespeare series when I'm feeling down. I enjoy it so much. 

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Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 4 (part 1)

THE STORY SO FAR: Orsino sent Cesario (who is actually Viola and is in love with him) to woo Olivia on his behalf. Olivia fell in love with Cesario, who returns to Orsino to find him still moping about self-indulgently, wallowing in love-sickness.

The interplay between Viola and Orsino in this scene is adorable. She matches all his posturing with genuine, eloquent sentiment, and you can see him starting to think more seriously about his little pretty "boy" friend. 

Incidentally, in my favorite TV program of all time, John Barton's Playing Shakespeare, Barton rehearses this entire scene with Judi Dench and Richard Pasco. It's well worth a watch over your lunch break or something. Here's a sub-par YouTube clip of it:

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Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 3 (part 2)

THE STORY SO FAR: While Viola is struggling with a cross-dressed love triangle, Sir Toby is busy partying into the wee hours of the night, accompanied (and funded) by his pal and patsy, Sir Andrew Aguecheek. This does not amuse Malvolio.

This bit of the scene actually has two of my favorite lines. One classic line is Sir Toby's "Dost thou think that because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" It's basically one of the best lines to trot out when someone is being smug and superior. LET'S HEAR IT FOR CAKES AND ALE. 

The second line I love is Sir Andrew's plaintive "I was adored once too." It's pathetic for a number of reasons, mostly because (a) it's part of a whole series of exchanges where Sir Andrew is basically running around after the big kids shouting "Oooh! Me too!" in a desperate attempt to win approval, and (b) it implies, probably accurately, that Sir Andrew is no longer adored.

When you're done giving Antonio a hug, give Sir Andrew a hug too. He needs a hug.

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Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 3 (part 1)

So, Twelfth Night has basically two plots. One has clearly emerged by now: Viola's disguise as Cesario and the resulting love triangle between her, Orsino, and Olivia. The second one, which could be called the comedic subplot, is going to get underway in this week's scenes. 

He might throw good parties, but nothing will shake my conviction that Sir Toby is a jerk. 

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Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 2

THE PLOT SO FAR: Cesario (Viola) has just left Olivia, whom he (she) was wooing on behalf of Orsino. Little does he (she) realize that his (her) proxy wooing has been more effective than he (she) thought...

Pronouns, eh?

I love the "I left no ring with her" monologue. It's funny, wistful, sad, all in one. Here's Judi Dench showing you how it's done:

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There's a new comic book available in my Shoppe! I've collected my scene-by-scene Macbeth comics, re-drawn all the artwork digitally (so it looks a lot cleaner and neater) and added exclusive commentary. Check it out today! 

REVIEW: "All My Sons" at the Stratford Festival

As I've said before, I'm pretty bad at writing reviews because (a) I tend to like everything and (b) if I don't like something, I don't want to make anyone feel bad by saying so. So it was with some trepidation that I decided to review the Stratford Festival's production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons, because I have disliked all my past encounters with Arthur Miller and didn't see how that was possibly going to change.

Before I start my review, this is what All My Sons is about:

As you can see, there's a lot of angst. I'm allergic to angst. So... how did I like it?

Seriously, this was really confusing for me because I went in 100% sure that I would enjoy the performances but hate the play... but I ended up loving EVERYTHING.

I'm not making this up, you guys. I enjoyed an Arthur Miller play. Send help. 

Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 1

So, we've met Viola, who is in mourning for her brother who she believes was lost at sea, and who is now masquerading as a boy who just happens to look exactly like the aforementioned brother.

Let's meet the brother!

Boy/girl twins are never identical, but DON'T LET THIS FACT DISRUPT YOUR SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF. Just go on accepting that "Cesario" looks exactly like Sebastian. It'll make the subsequent plot hijinks much easier to digest. 

Also, someone give Antonio a hug. He needs a hug.

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There's a new comic book available in my Shoppe! I've collected my scene-by-scene Macbeth comics, re-drawn all the artwork digitally (so it looks a lot cleaner and neater) and added exclusive commentary. Check it out today! 

Twelfth Night: Act 1, Scene 5 (part 3)

THE PLOT SO FAR: Orisno orders his young attendant, Cesario, to go win Olivia's love for him (Orsino), but Olivia is in mourning for her dead brother and "Cesario" is actually a cross-dressing girl named Viola, who is secretly in love with Orsino.

....you know, just your typical run-of-the-mill Shakespearean love triangle.

The "wooing" scene between Cesario and Olivia is one of my favorites. It's got some great poetry (see: the famous "willow cabin" speech) but, more importantly, is just plain charming. Olivia's flustration and panic at realizing she's falling in love with this page boy is simply adorable. 

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