Theatre Under The Trees to Present TWELFTH NIGHT

Theatre Under The Trees is turning back time to the early 1920's with this year's show. William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a play that mixes mirth and merriment in near perfect proportions so setting it in the lull after World War I and before the Roaring 20's seems to be a good fit.

Twelfth Night tells the story of shipwrecked twins, focusing on Viola as she searches for a safe haven. Viola, disguised as a boy, takes a job with the Duke Orsino, and falls in love with him. When Orsino asks her to carry his words of love to the Lady Olivia and then Olivia falls in love with Viola, Viola finds herself in an awkward situation. Making things worse are the drunk Sir Toby and his friends waging a perpetual prank war with Olivia's priggish steward Malvolio. Feste, the fool, takes his merry and melancholy songs to both courts, while skewering the silliness of those he observes. The whole situation spins to a climax when Viola's twin brother enters the scene and is mistaken for her.

Of all of Shakespeare's plays, Twelfth Night is a director's delight. The story is straightforward, there aren't a lot of extraneous characters and the mischief and misunderstandings have so much comic potential. It contains the most music of all the comedies and we are very excited to be setting Shakespeare's lyrics to music composed specifically for Theatre Under The Trees.

Theatre Under The Trees is a branch of DreamWrights Youth and Family Theatre. Theatre Under The Trees is proud to have brought lively Shakespearean comedies to local audiences in beautiful parks for the past 17 years. It strives for a family friendly evening of theatre that can be enjoyed whether you are a Shakespeare novice or fanatic.

Performances will be held July 24th through August 2nd and begin at 6:30, except where noted. Performances are free. Donations are gratefully accepted. Twelfth Night is sponsored by Adams Electric Cooperative, Inc.

July 24: Pinchot State Park
July 25: Brown's Orchard, 5:30 p.m.
July 26: Cousler Park, Manchester Township
July 28: Rudy County Park
July 30: Sam Lewis State Park
July 31: William Kain County Park
Aug. 1: Codorus State Park
Aug. 2: 2:30 p.m. matinee at DreamWrights
For more information, visit www.dreamwrights.org or call 717-848-8623.

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