TWELFTH NIGHT Filmed Live At The Wilma Theater to Stream This Summer

Digital theater trailblazer The Wilma Theater is offering a streaming version of its onstage production of TWELFTH NIGHT, available to view on demand through July 23.

The Wilma Theater became a leader in digital theater during the pandemic. "What started as a necessity when we couldn't gather in person for theater has become a standard part of the Wilma's work." said Yury Urnov. "Through digital streaming, we can share our work across the country and the world, and create further access to our play."

This streaming version was filmed in front of a live audience on stage at the Wilma Theater by Leslie Rivera, who captured and edited the Wilma's digital productions of FAT HAM, CHERRY ORCHARD, KISS, and ETERNAL LIFE PART 1. This taping was filmed with multiple cameras and edited to offer the best view of the on-stage action.

"Director Yury Urnov's production of Twelfth Night at the Wilma Theater is a boisterous, playful, and unrestrained rendition of Willam Shakespeare's romantic comedy, punctuated by moments of absolute genius," said Talkin' Broadway.

The Wilma Theater imagines TWELFTH NIGHT as the beach party of the summer, where a conservative beach town gets upended by the arrival of shipwrecked twins Viola and Sebastian (both played by MK Tuomanen). Hijinks ensue with a drunken uncle, a power-hungry steward, and a social media-obsessed countess. Urnov's interpretation embraces the queerness implicit in the 420-year-old original and further builds upon it to create a glittery, genderful celebration with a nightclub vibe.

TWELFTH NIGHT streaming tickets are $29 and can be purchased at wilmatheater.org. Tickets are one stream per purchase, and links will be sent to view TWELFTH NIGHT anytime from June 26-July 23, 2023. The streaming platform, Overture+, allows streaming on any device connected to the internet, including TVs.

The cast of TWELFTH NIGHT features the Wilma's new Co-Artistic Director Lindsay Smiling, performer MK Tuomanen, and Wilma Theater HotHouse Acting Company Members Jered McLenigan, Brett Ashley Robinson, Keith J. Conallen, Campbell O'Hare, Ross Beschler, Suli Holum, Justin Jain, and Krista Apple. The creative team also includes Set Designer Misha Kachman, Costume Designer Ivania Stack, Lighting Designer Thom Weaver, Composer/Sound Designer/Music Director Michael Kiley, Movement Director Jungwoong Kim, Projection Designer/Videographer Les Rivera, and Dramaturg Kellie MeCleary.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Yury Urnov is a Co-Artistic Director at The Wilma Theater, and has directed two previous shows at the Wilma - MINOR CHARACTER and Mr. Burns, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY - and will direct MY MAMA AND THE FULL-SCALE INVASION in the 2023-24 Season. He was born in Moscow, Russia, and graduated from the Russian Academy of Theater Art (GITIS) in 2000 with an MFA and since then has directed over 40 productions in his home country, Europe, and Africa. His recent professional directing credits in the US include HEDDA GABLER and UBU ROI at Cutting Ball Theater in San Francisco, the award-winning THR3E ZISTERS at Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, THE PILLOWMAN at Forum Theater in D.C., PUTIN ON ICE and ONE HOUR EIGHTEEN MINUTES with ACME Corporation Theater of Baltimore, and also KISS, MARIE ANTOINETTE, and YOU FOR ME FOR YOU at Woolly Mammoth Theater in DC, where Yury has been a proud company member since 2014. In 2009-2011, he was a Fulbright Scholar in Residence at Towson University, MD where he still teaches. Yury serves as an Associate Director of the Center for International Theater Development, Baltimore. During his 20-year long partnership with the CITD Yury participated in and co-produced multiple US-East European cultural exchange projects. He also translated plays of Martin McDonagh, Sarah Ruhl, and Edward Albee into Russian, and several contemporary Russian plays into English.

ABOUT THE WILMA

The Wilma Theater creates living, adventurous theater. We engage artists and audiences in imaginative reflection on the complexities of contemporary life. We present bold, original, rigorously crafted productions that represent a range of voices, viewpoints, and styles.

Established in 1973 as The Wilma Project, the Wilma challenged the Philadelphia cultural community to create theatrical productions of original material and to develop local artists. From 1973 through 1979, the Wilma dazzled the Philadelphia public by presenting work with renowned avant-garde theater artists, including the Bread & Puppet Theatre, Mabou Mines, Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company, The Wooster Group, Ping Chong & the Fiji Company and Spalding Gray.

In 1979, Blanka and Jiri Zizka, natives of Czechoslovakia, forged a creative relationship with the Wilma as artists-in-residence, and gained acclaim for their bold, innovative productions. The Zizkas assumed artistic leadership of the organization in 1981, and during their tenure the Wilma Theater established a national reputation for provocative work ranging from the international drama of Bertolt Brecht, Athol Fugard, Eugene Ionesco, Joe Orton and Tom Stoppard to new American plays by Tina Howe, Romulus Linney, Quincy Long, Doug Wright, Amy Freed and many others, as well as premiering Jiri Zizka's original adaptations of classic novels. CBS News called the Wilma "one playhouse that has emerged from the shadow of the Great White Way to make history on its own."

In February 2020, the Wilma radically changed its leadership structure. Founding Artistic Director Blanka Zizka invited three additional artists from a variety of histories and experiences to share leadership in a cohort structure, which will last until spring of 2023. Each year, one cohort member acts as lead Artistic Director, with input and support from other cohort members. It is an experiment in shared leadership. In Summer 2021, Blanka stepped back from the Cohort for a consulting role as Artistic Director Emeritus; the Cohort now includes Yury Urnov, James Ijames, and Morgan Green. They work alongside Managing Director Leigh Goldenberg as the leadership of the organization.

During the pandemic, the Wilma has become a leader in digital theater. The digital production of HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING was named the best of the year in 2020 by The Wall Street Journal and nominated for a Drama League Award. The Wilma's 2021 digital production of FAT HAM by James Ijames, directed by Morgan Green, was named one of the best virtual productions in 2021 by The New York Times, which stated that "The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia perfected beautiful film-stage hybrids." FAT HAM was honored with the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WILMA:

http://www.wilmatheater.org/

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