{"id":109569,"date":"2025-06-02T19:38:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T02:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=109569"},"modified":"2025-06-02T19:38:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T02:38:42","slug":"los-altos-stage-company-offers-updated-musical-version-of-william-shakespeares-twelfth-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/los-altos-stage-company-offers-updated-musical-version-of-william-shakespeares-twelfth-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Altos Stage Company offers updated musical version of William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”"},"content":{"rendered":"

TWELFTH NIGHT<\/em><\/strong>: By William Shakespeare. Conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub. \u00a0Music and lyrics by Shaina Taub. Los Altos Stage Company, Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos, CA 94022. <\/strong>(650) 941-0551 Weds \u2013 Fri.,\u00a0<\/strong>www.<\/u><\/strong>losaltosstage.org<\/u><\/strong> May 29 June 22, 2025. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>When you combine a long-loved Shakespearean comedy like Twelfth Night with a terrific score of funny and sweet songs as well as a very talented cast, a small, but fine sounding orchestra and a director\/choreographer who knows when to push her cast to even more hijinks \u2013 well, it\u2019s a can\u2019t miss production!<\/p>\n

You say you\u2019ve never seen a musical production of \u201cTwelfth Night?\u201d\u00a0 Then it\u2019s best to get tickets to LASC\u2019s outstanding fabrication before it closes June 22.<\/p>\n

The Pear Theatre\u2019s new artistic director Sara K, Dean directs the LASC production with a light, comedic touch \u2013 exactly what is needed here.\u00a0 She also serves as choreographer for the show which includes some first-rate musical numbers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to list the best actors in this show because nearly all of the 17-member cast are excellent. Dean makes sure each member of her cast finds ways to stand out \u2013 both in their musical numbers as well as when they\u2019re intentionally overacting in their roles.<\/p>\n

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The entire cast of “Twelfth Night” in all their colorful costumes<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Viola, petite Kristy Aquino shows her versatility both when playing the part of her brother, Sebastian, as well as when she can literally finally let her hair down and be herself.\u00a0 As Feste, Melissa Mei Jones, is probably onstage more than any other actor.\u00a0 She\u2019s an excellent singer as well as a good comedic actress.<\/p>\n

Sarah Thermond is also exceptional as the fool, Malvolio.\u00a0 She wants so much to be loved, even resorting to wearing knee-high yellow socks covered over with what is described as \u201ccross garters that are painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re somewhat familiar with Shakespeare\u2019s play, you\u2019ll likely remember that Viola and her twin brother Sebastian (played here by Rachel Rivera) are shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria.\u00a0 But the twins have become separated and Viola believes that her brother has drowned.<\/p>\n

As Olivia, Naomi Murray makes a formidable heroine. \u00a0Tall and assured, he wears long, black gowns with shimmering light summer shawls over them.\u00a0 Her height makes it all the more amusing when she falls in love with the pint-sized Aquino dressed as her brother.<\/p>\n

Big kudos to costume designer Katie Strawn who has come up with so many costumes \u2013 some in monochromatic hues of greens and blues.\u00a0 But there\u2019s also many dark black or black-and-white costumes as well.<\/p>\n

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From left: Ray D’Ambrosio and Dan Cardenas<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s astounding how much musical sound music director Debra Lambert is able to get from her three-piece orchestra.\u00a0 In addition to conducting, Lambert also plays the piano, while Adriano Tecson plays drums and Brandon Voss plays bass.<\/p>\n

Remember that this \u201cTwelfth Night\u201d is a musical so there are a multitude of musical numbers.\u00a0 Some of the best are \u201cPlay On,\u201d \u201cWord on the Street,\u201d \u201cTell Her,\u201d \u201cIf You Were My Beloved,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re the Worst,\u201d \u201cViola\u2019s Soliloquy,\u201d \u201cIs This Not Love?\u201d and \u201cEyes of Another,\u201d which ends the show and is sung by the entire cast.<\/p>\n

With so much talent amassed on the Bus Barn stage, this production clearly is a show worth seeing.<\/p>\n

(\u201cTwelfth Night\u201d runs approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>CAST: \u00a0Kristy Aquino, Naomi Murray, Joe Cloward, Sarah Thermond, Melissa Mei Jones, Ray D\u2019Ambrosio, Dan Cardenas, Patty Reinhart, Rachel Rivera, Ralph Shehayed, Katherine Nails, Lauren D\u2019Ambrosio, Sruthi Jayakumar, Corinna Laskin, Luna Lau, Kristen Soriano and Jen Yuan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>ARTISTIC STAFF: Director and choreographer: Sara K. Dean; \u00a0music director: Debra Lambert; scenic designer: Camryn Lang; lighting designer: Aya Matsutomo; stage manager: Carla McCreight; props designer: Laura Merrill; costume designer: Katie Strawn. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Joanne Engelhardt is a former San Jose Mercury and Santa Cruz Sentinel writer and theatre critic and is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact:\u00a0joanneengelhardt@comcast.net.<\/em><\/p>\n

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TWELFTH NIGHT: By William Shakespeare. Conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub. \u00a0Music and lyrics by Shaina Taub. Los Altos Stage Company, Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"yes","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Event","footnotes":""},"categories":[841],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-109569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-joanne-engelhardt"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"