BHS Performing Arts Students Performing ‘Twelfth Night’ on Nov. 17-18

Healy Weisman as Olivia engages in a verbal spat with Feste the Fool, played by Emma Cohen, while the steward Malvolio (John Mitchell) and maid Maria (Brooke D’Andrea) look on. Courtesy photo

Submitted by the BHS Performing Arts Department

The Bedford High School Performing Arts Department will present “Twelfth Night,” the classic Shakespearean comedy about love and mistaken identity, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18 in the BHS Auditorium.

In “Twelfth Night,” the shipwrecked Viola disguises herself as a boy named Cesario and becomes a page to the lovesick Duke Orsino, who pines for the lady Olivia. Olivia has no interest in Orsino, but takes a shine to the boy Cesario – while Viola/Cesario only has eyes for Orsino.

Meanwhile, Olivia’s pompous steward Malvolio is tricked by Olivia’s drunk aunt Lady Toby Belch and her friends into believing Olivia is actually in love with him. The machinations of mistaken identity and unrequited love are eventually untangled, but not before a few characters get their deserved comeuppance.

BHS’s production imagines the Renaissance Island setting of Illyria in the present day while Shakespeare’s language remains unchanged.

The cast features BHS seniors Shannon Sullivan as Viola and Healy Weisman as Olivia, with junior John Mitchell as Malvolio and sophomore Maggie Chessman as Orsino. Junior Violet Gould plays Toby Belch, with sophomore Brooke D’Andrea and senior Tristan Latham as Toby’s pals Maria and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, respectively.

Lady Toby Belch (Violet Gould) concocts a plan to take revenge on Malvolio, with the help of Sir Andrew (Tristan Latham) and Maria (Brooke D’Andrea). Courtesy photo

Freshman Emma Cohen is the singing jester Feste. Sophomores Abby Strickland and Victoria Reidling play Antonio and Sebastian, and freshman Abby Bourret rounds out the cast.

The production is directed by Katrina Faulstich, marking her 23^rd show at BHS. Senior Cate Galante serves as assistant director, with BHS alum Mike Poe as technical director and BHS faculty member Betsy Goetschius as costume manager. Seniors Laura Fonseca-Morlock and Eliese Latham are the stage managers, leading a crew of 27 students.

The themes and language of “Twelfth Night” are most appropriate for audiences in middle school and up. The show, adapted by E. Holmes, runs 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are available through the Performing Arts Department website: https://bhschorusandtheater.weebly.com/tickets.html. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students. The online box office will close seven hours prior to each performance time, but tickets will be sold at the door, if available.