By Lynn Venhaus

Your first clue that we’re not in Missouri anymore is the palm trees jutting out from a swanky home’s backyard pool and patio right here in St. Louis’ own Forest Park.

That au-currant set design by Regina Garcia tips us off that we’re being transported to the vibrant cultural confluence that is a Latin-infused coastal town, aka Illyria (nod to Miami), where romance, music and festive fun are priorities.

Funny, flamboyant, and even frivolous at times, “Twelfth Night” is given a fresh spin by St. Louis Shakespeare Festival that is ideally suited for the outdoor month-long production at Shakespeare Glen.

Considered William Shakespeare’s “greatest comedy,” it’s certainly one of his most accessible – and director Lisa Portes has set it in a modern celebrity-filled metropolis, creating vivid characters and a glitzy vibe.

Portes, who heads the MFA directing program at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, framed it as an exile story. Her father came over to America from Cuba when he was 15, during the Cuban Revolution.

It’s a tale of young Viola (Gabriela Saker) who is rescued after being shipwrecked, and she believes her twin brother Sebastian (Avi Roque) has succumbed to a tragic fate, lost at sea.

Ryan Garbayo as Malvolio who flips for Olivia. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

After separation, each has reinvented themselves, trying to find their way in a strange new world. Disguising herself as a male, “Cesario,” so she can work for soccer celeb Orsino, Viola discovers love at first sight with the affluent jock, now her boss – and is thrust into a poolside whirlwind journey.

For the most part, a crackerjack ensemble weaves a merry tale of mistaken identities with aplomb.

Scene-stealers Ricki Franklin, funny as the loud party girl Dame Toby (a gender switch from Sir Toby Belcher), and Cassidy Flynn, reminiscent of comic actor Charlie Day in his chaotic antics as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, are standouts. As the obnoxious ringleaders of revelry, they elicit shrieks of laughter from the engaged crowd.

Unfortunately, the cast was uneven early in the run (on June 2), and there are a few trouble spots (chalk it up to the demands of a large outdoor show?). Orsino is supposed to be a robust figure, yet Felipe Carrasco, who physically looked the part, seemed rather nondescript in the role.

Feste, the fool, is usually wacky on stage, and Esteban Andres Cruz is daffy in demeanor, but the downfall here was that they were flat and offkey singing some of the Latin-infused melodies, including a pitchy duet with Viola. However, they projected a flashy personality in the costumes designed by Danielle Nieves.

Nevertheless, the instrumental rhythms arranged by Music Director David Molina, including traditional Latin songs with contagious beats, was superbly performed by band leader Phil Gomez and Clave Sol (Gomez on piano, Tung on bass, Thor Anderson on Congas and Herman Semidey on timbales and percussion). Molina was the sound designer as well.

Photo by Phillip Hamer

With such a glamorous setting, of course Nieves’ costumes would reflect a hot and hip attitude, and none more so than Jasmine Cheri Rush, who looks and moves like Beyonce.

Her comical outfitting of a lovesick Malvolio (a delightful Ryan Garbayo) is one of the evening’s biggest laughs.

Alisha Espinosa as Maria, Adam Flores as Fabian, and Christina Rios as Captain offer fine support as Olivia’s team (Rios also returns as a priest), while Adam Poss plays Valentine and Femi Aiyesgbusi is Curio, two of Orsino’s attendants. Poss also plays Antonio, who falls in love with Sebastian after rescuing him.

The coupling – Antonio loves Sebastian, Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, Malvolio loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Roderigo (aka Sebastian) – gets very complicated with the mistaken identities and unrequited love (which, if seem familiar, are plot threads copied from Shakespeare for centuries). It might be helpful to read the large graphics board set up on the grounds to explain the players and what happens.

Olivia and Viola aka “Cesario”

As Shakespeare once wrote in another play, all’s well that ends well, and love is love – and indeed will eventually triumph in certain cases.

The sleek designs – John Wylie’s cool lighting really makes the set pop – amplify the culture and community for a most pleasant summer evening.

The expressed joie de vivre makes this one of the liveliest Shakespeare in Forest Park productions in tone and tempo, and its heartfelt message about acceptance and identity a hopeful takeaway.

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents the comedy “Twelfth Night” Tuesdays through Sundays at 8 p.m. except on Mondays, from May 31 to June 25, in Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park. (Across from the Art Museum). The grounds open at 6:30 p.m., and the show is 2 hours, 30 minutes, with an intermission. For more information, www.stlshakes.org.


Orsino and bodyguard. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

Inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Aug 12 — Sep 6, 2020

While theaters remain dark, we are excited to share a socially-distant, self-guided tour in Forest Park with custom art installations and open-air performances. The 1.25-mile walk was developed by St Louis Shakespeare Festival and will feature artists from Painted Black STL, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, The Big Muddy Dance Company, Poor Monsters and Jazz St. Louis.

Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park

There is currently a waitlist: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-late-summer-nights-stroll-registration-112138611606

A free outdoor walking experience in Forest Park.

See the park like you’ve never seen it before on this 80-minute jaunt full of poetry, music and art. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “A Late Summer Night’s Stroll” puts you at the center of the story: four lovers’ escape to an enchanted wood and the magical night of transformation that follows. A socially-distant self-guided tour of iconic spots and hidden gems, featuring custom installations, open-air performances and charming vignettes.

Free, but registration required. Suggested donation of $20.

Times and Group Sizes

The 1.25 mile walk begins at ten-minute intervals between 5 p.m. – 7:40 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday. Groups are limited to ten or fewer and only one group can register per time-slot (you will not be paired with another group). Guests are strongly encouraged to attend only with members of their own household.

Guests ages 9 and up must wear a face mask or covering in accordance with the City of St. Louis guidelines when in attendance. 

For more information, visit to: https://stlshakes.org/

A Late Summer Night’s Stroll: An Interactive Walk Experience in Forest Park Will Be Offered Aug. 12 – Sept. 6

Producing Artistic Director Tom Ridgely has officially announced the postponement of St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” its 20th Anniversary Shakespeare in the Park production, as well as “Shakespeare in the Streets: The Ville” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Bruce Longworth, has been rescheduled for the 2022 summer season, and “Shakespeare in the Streets: The Ville”, written by Mariah Richardson and directed by Thomasina Clarke, will take place in September 2021. Final dates will be announced at a later time.

“In the end, it boiled down to the safety of the artists,” Ridgely said in a statement. “The actors’ union hired a very well-qualified epidemiologist to assess the situation, and their determination was that it just wouldn’t be safe to return to work this summer. We wish it could be otherwise, but we have to trust the experts and not take any chances when it comes to people’s health and well-being. We’ll be back though, and we’re already looking forward to how good it will feel when we can all be together again.”

The Festival will spend the additional time investing in The Ville, working closely with 4the Ville and Young Friends of the Ville, its partner organizations on Shakespeare in the Streets.

Mariah Richardson

“I am saddened about the delay but excited about the extra time and opportunity to really learn about the residents of the Ville. Their story is rooted in the earliest history of our city. And a story crying out to be heard,” said playwright Mariah Richardson.

The Festival is continuing to collect stories from current and past residents of the neighborhood and encourage anyone with a connection to submit via mail, email or phone. Details and questions are available at stlshakes.org/theville.

“A Late Summer Night’s Stroll”

In lieu of the original scheduled 20th-anniversary production of Shakespeare in the Park, the Festival is offering a new socially-distant walking experience in Forest Park. A LATE SUMMER NIGHT’S STROLL, loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will take guests on a 90-minute walk through some of the park’s most iconic spots and hidden gems.

The STROLL will use music, dance and visual art to offer a new and surprising way of experiencing both the story and the park. “Midsummer is one of the most magical and beloved plays in all of world drama. It follows the flight of four lovers into the woods and the night of lyrical transformations that drive them apart and back together again – capped by the famous and hilarious “play-within-a-play” put on by local tradesmen,” says Ridgely.

“This experience will put the walkers at the center of the story.” A LATE SUMMER NIGHT’S STROLL run evenings, Tuesday-Sunday, August 12 to September 6. Groups will be limited to 10 and under with scheduled start times to maintain social distance. The walk is free, but registration is required and will open to the public on Monday, July 13. Suggested donations are $20, and post-walk picnics will be available at an additional charge. “In this time when safe, fun, out-of-home experiences have been almost impossible to come by, we hope to create an activity that allows the people of St. Louis to reconnect with the city and each other in an act of engagement and shared pleasure,” concludes Ridgely.

More information will be available online at www.stlshakes.org/stroll. Leadership support for 2020’s Shakespeare in the Park programming is provided by The Whitaker Foundation, Emerson, The Bellwether Foundation, Edward Jones, Enterprise Holdings Foundations, The Strive Fund, the Missouri Arts Council, The Trio Foundation of St. Louis, Buckingham Asset Management, and the Regional Arts Commission.

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents Shakespeare and works inspired by his legacy of storytelling. Since 2001, the festival has grown from producing a single production of Shakespeare in the Park to a year-round season of impactful theater in exciting and accessible venues throughout the St. Louis community. The festival’s artistic and education programs reached over 50,000 patrons and students during the 2018 season and have reached over one million since 2001. In 2019, the Festival received a “What’s Right with the Region” award from Focus St. Louis