Twelfth Night, or What You Will

Creatively relocated to the orient, this Illyria stage comes across fairly well on screen. However, one of Shakespeare's meatiest female roles, Viola, is flaccidly and awkwardly occupied by Helen Hunt. Ms. Hunt, although very good in films such as "As Good As it Gets," simply stumbles on the language, allowing it to completely overwhelm any humor or drama that might eke out of her performance. This is a very mature comedy, the holiday of Twelfth Night itself a metaphor for the humor in the play that eventually sates and then sickens the audience. I recommend the recent film version starring Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham Carter for a first-time viewing of Twelfth Night. After all, there is only one first time.

Nicholas Hytner's production of "Twelfth Night" was performed in the summer of '98 at Lincoln Center in New York. I was lucky enough to see the play (from the front row), and it was spellbinding. The TV version (broadcast on PBS' "Live From Lincoln Center") was just as magical. It's a very funny play, and the incredible lighting, sets and music (especially Feste's songs) make it an experience I'll always remember.

We won't go into the screenplay here...we're talking Shakespeare, after all. Now, the sets were very sparse, but then, this was live theater. So what can you criticise? The casting!!!

Paul Rudd is wonderful, just masculine and sexy and totally at ease with his dialogue and his role. I couldn't take my eyes off him when he was present, and missed him tremendously when he wasn't on stage.

But Helen Hunt? Whose idea was it to cast this brittle, TV-groomed actress in such a demanding role? The poor woman doesn't pull it off. She seemed to stamp around the stage like she was lost, that terrible wondering frown on her face making it look like she was trying to keep her lines straight. The magnificent Mr. Rudd looking twice at the asexual Miss Hunt? I don't think so. Their mismatching ruined what would have been a great presentation of this classic.

I'd still watch it again, though, for Paul Rudd.

I was delighted to see "Twelfth Night" broadcast on PBS, since I got the opportunity to see this play performed live over the summer. I thought it was an excellent production! While this was not my first introduction to Shakespeare, in my opinion the actors and everyone involved worked very hard to bring the audience into the play and make sure they didn't get lost. Their hard work really payed off. I must admit that I am a huge fan of Helen Hunt's, not to mention Kyra Sedgewick and Paul Rudd, so this made the play even more exciting to watch. I enjoyed the season premiere of "Mad About You", thrilled to see some of the actors from "Twelfth Night" making cameos. All in all, I thought that this was an exceptionally well-done production, and although it's no longer running, is a must-see!

I have enjoyed Helen Hunt in numerous productions and liked Paul Rudd in "Clueless", but was quite unprepared for their transformation in this lovely rendition. The staging, music, and direction all conspired to make this one of the most enjoyable productions I have seen.

When it was broadcast on PBS I taped it more as a matter of course than anything else, having no idea what a mesmerising and alluring production it would be of one of my favourite plays. Since then I have been jealously guarding my increasingly decrepit tape from the predations of my friends, and hoping against hope that it might be released on DVD or at least videotape so I could have a more enduring copy (and so could my friends). Any chance that will happen?