Main Street Stage Changes 'Twelfth Night' Schedule
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Main Street Stage has changed the performance schedule for its production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night."
The show will preview on its original date, Thursday, July 30, but the preview has been extended through Sunday, Aug. 2. Thursday is also is "pay what you can night"; the play starts at 7:30.
Tickets for preview performances on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 are $10 for adults and $5 for students. There will be another community "pay what you can night" on Thursday, Aug. 13, at 7:30.
The show will open Friday, Aug. 7, at 7:30 and run Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 15. The free Shakespeare by the Pond performance at Windsor lake is Sunday, Aug. 9, at 2 p.m.
For tickets and more information, call 413-663-3240 or visit mainstreetstage.org and click on reservations.
The full performance schedule:
Thursday, Jul 30, 7:30; Pay What You Can Preview
Friday, Jul 31, 7:30; Preview
Saturday, Aug. 1,7:30; Preview
Sunday, Aug. 2, 2; Preview Matinee
Friday, Aug. 7, 7:30; Opening Night
Saturday, Aug. 8, 7:30
Sunday, Aug. 9, 2; Shakespeare by the Pond at Windsor Lake
Thursday, Aug, 13, 7:30
Friday, Aug. 14, 7:30
Saturday, Aug. 15, 7:30; Closing Night
Main Street Stage Selects Bard's 'Twelfth Night'
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Main Street Stage will present "Twelfth Night" as its second annual Shakespeare production.
The play will preview Thursday, July 30, as a "pay what you can night" and run Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m. There will be a "pay-what-you-can" Community Night again on Thursday, Aug. 13, at 7:30. There will a matinee on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 2 and a free "Shakespeare by the Pond" performance on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 2.
One of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, "Twelfth Night" is a story about love, music, mistaken identity, and a world in which perception and reality frequently are at odds with each other.
Viola is shipwrecked upon the shores of Illyria, where Duke Orsino rules. As a woman who has lost all to the sea (including her twin brother, Sebastian), she decides that her safest plan is to disguise herself as a man, Cesario, and find work in service to Orsino. The duke is madly in love with a neighboring countess, Olivia, who rejects his tenders of love stating that she'll continue to mourn for her brother and father for another seven years. As may be expected in any of Shakespeare's mistaken identity plays, Olivia falls in love with Cesario, Viola falls in love with Orsino, and the love triangle creates many humorous and tragic encounters. Meanwhile, Toby Belch (Olivia's drunken uncle) and Maria (Olivia's handmaid) plan their own acts of deception, trickery and revenge.
Together, they plot against Malvolio, Olivia's puritanical servant, whom she describes as "full of self-love." They trick him into believing that Olivia is in love with him and set about getting him to dress and act with such madness that he is imprisoned and shut up in a dark room until the truth of the trickery comes to light. In addition, they fool the naive Sir Andrew Aguecheek, an unsuccessful courtier to Olivia, into fighting with Cesario to defend his honor, convincing the knight that this will surely win him the hand of Olivia.
The decision to mount "Twelfth Night" this summer came from the company's desire to bring comedy to a community emerging from a dark winter and tough economic time. It was thought that people simply need a good laugh!
After holding a public reading of portions of the script that included talk back with the audience a few months ago, and collaborating with a group of artists and community members, the themes that continued to rise to the surface were: deception, love, music, trickery, and reality versus perception. From these discussions, the decision was made to set this production of "Twelfth Night" in the summer of 1969 on Coney Island, N.Y. The amusement-park feel, the "summer of love" environment, and Woodstock all make this a perfect environment for the life of this timeless comedy.
"Twelfth Night" will be directed by Melissa Quirk and the cast includes local actors Mollie Remillard, Kelli Newby, Eric Auld, David Lane, Barb Cardillo, Alexia Trainor, Sean McHugh, Jack Sleigh, Darren Fitzgerald, Jeremy Kerr, Rachel Barker, Julia Les and David Winn.
Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for seniors and $20 for general admission. To reserve tickets call the box office at 413-663-3240 or or go to www.mainstreetstage.org.
