Anywhere Theatre Company's ‘Twelfth Night’ Puts the ‘Community’ Back in Community Theater
Here, Shakespeare is for everyone.
As my dad and I drove to get pizza before Anywhere Theatre Company's production of "Twelfth Night," I attempted to give him a plot rundown: girl dressed as boy (Viola) meets boy (Duke Orsino), who is in love with other girl (Olivia). Olivia falls in love with Viola, who falls in love with Duke Orsino. But the easiest way to jog his memory, and mine, was through the details of the production I'd done over 10 years ago with the same director.
I recounted the handshake the boy playing Duke Orsino and I had made up, which ended in a hard-hitting high-five that I (playing Viola) winced at in dramatic fashion. I remembered the Titanic-inspired blocking my friend playing Olivia and I had made up. The Newsies-esque black cap I wore to stuff my hair in. The tunes of the songs a local community member had written for our production—hummable and still on the tip of my tongue.
I've loved "Twelfth Night" ever since, and so did my castmates. My parents may not cherish it to the same extent, but there was a fondness for those summers, the "Shakespeare camp" that always ended with free performances in the local park. Because even though we weren't even teenagers, we'd been given the freedom to embrace the material and make it our own—and share it with our friends and family.
That's what Peter Royston, director of all those Shakespeare summers and now Anywhere Theatre Company, does best. He makes theater by the community, for the community.
Last week's production of "Twelfth Night" brought in the community long before the theoretical curtain rose. Anywhere Theatre Company prides itself on doing theater, unsurprisingly, anywhere. The team took over Tarrytown's Makers Central as their rehearsal and performance space.
Makers Central isn't your typical theater; it's a space for local artists to come in and work on their craft. The space is loaded with in-progress work, tables for crafting, and assorted finished products. There are shelves of ceramics and stacks of woodworking pieces. As a performance space, it was cozy and eclectic, with warm string lights and chairs pressed against beautifully crafted dinnerware. The team transformed the space into a long rectangle of a stage, with the audience three sides. At the opposite end from the short side sat two members of The Altogether, a local band that wrote original songs for the show.
The setting couldn't have been better matched for the heart of this production: a group of community members working on art they love. It's that community element that elevates this show from a simple local staging to an interactive, moving production.
The company doesn't offer anything revolutionary to the material—there are no hyper-modern references or random shifts in setting. The single addition the cast makes is music, though the results are mixed: a few songs seemed to interrupt the action or fit in haphazardly, while others added welcome layers, like a trio between the love triangle characters. I found the music most effective when it provided a background soundtrack with additional guitar or a beat to punctuate lines and moments.
Instead, the company generally presents the show as written, with no alterations to time, place, or gender (besides the pre-written ones). The intimate space becomes the differentiator, the agent that blurs the lines between audience and production. From the moment the cast appears, they're interacting with the audience. During big monologues, many actors looked to us for answers. Some went as far as to poke and prod at us, waiting for our reactions and playing off them.
I'm usually wary of interaction during a performance, but here it felt meaningful and purposeful. This cast wasn't afraid to let the audience in—instead, they were excited to show us what they'd been working on.
That joy radiated throughout the theater, from the sweet, soft voice of Viola (Emma Freeman, also a member of The Altogether) to the swaying, swinging sillyness of the perpetually drunk Sir Toby Belch (Will Royston). Feste (charming Pamela Davis), the show's fool character, charmingly played to the audience as if she was letting us in on a special secret.
The standout was a mid-show monologue from Malvolio (Todd Brown), a stern steward whose demeanor changes when he believes he's reading a love letter from his mistress. Brown savored each word, each dramatic moment, not for his ego but for our enjoyment.
And enjoy we did. I sat across from a friend of the youngest cast member, who giggled with excitement whenever she came onstage. I watched as my dad blushed with embarrassment when Brown, his friend playing Malvolio, got in his face during a monologue. I saw laughter from a pair in one row cascade to others next to them. One woman beamed with her hand on her chest as her actor recited his final speech.
Maybe it's the nostalgia, maybe it's the theater kid in me, but it felt special to watch this cast do something they love—and make us love it with them.
It was only fitting, then, in this environment both made by and for the local community, to run into my friend who had played the Olivia to my Viola in that production 14 years ago. "Kismet," she said. A chance meeting, a big production, a happy ending. It all felt very Shakespearean.
More About Anywhere Theatre Company
I saw this production of “Twelfth Night” right before closing night, but there’s more Anywhere Theatre Company to come. The team works on performances and educational experiences year-round, which you can find on their website, Facebook, or Instagram.
Other Theater I’ve Seen…
After lots of pre-Tonys Broadway shows and anticipation, I actually watched The Tonys and got to see two Off-Broadway gems this week.
The Tony Awards
I watched this theater from my living room, with the company of wonderful friends who brought on-theme snacks for us. It was a night with a lot of wins I loved—“Maybe Happy Ending,” “Purpose,” Kara Young, Cole Escola! The night may have reinvigorated my Hamilton phase (we can pretend it ever went away) and I’ve been watching Audra McDonald’s performance from every possible angle. I recommend you do too.
Goddess
If someone had told me someone decided to write a show about a goddess because they heard Amber Iman sing, I’d believe them. Wrapping its run up this week at The Public Theater, “Goddess” is a new musical that tells the story of Nadiria, a singer at a nightclub in Kenya, who is actually the goddess of music, Marimba, hiding from her evil mother. Nadiria’s path crosses with Omari, the son of a conservative governor, who is trying to forge his own career in politics. As the two follow parallel paths, they fall in love—with each other, with music, with the nightclub community.
This production was incredibly beautiful. Bring back real sets! Sparkling costumes! Impressive choreography! A big puppet that’s an evil goddess mother! I loved the energy from this cast, especially Iman, whose voice is truly otherworldly.
I think this show has a bright future. The lyrics and book weren't fully there, but that’s what the time between The Public and a Broadway transfer is for. :)
Eurydice
If I had a nickel for every time I cried at a show about the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, I’d have two nickels (which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?). Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice” tells the mythological tale with a focus on Eurydice’s relationship with her dead father, who she reunites with in the underworld after she dies a young death.
While this is a revival and I’ve seen this play before (and reviewed it with my friend Hannah! Read her substack), this production felt incredibly fresh and new, breathtakingly poetic and purposeful. Maya Hawke plays a curious and grounded Eurydice, a light match to Brian D’Arcy James’ tender Father. Their relationship, even and especially in nonverbal moments, is what caught me in tears.
It was a night of big reactions; this production’s incredibly clever design reared multiple well-deserved gasps from the audience. Can I entice you enough if I say there’s an elevator with pouring rain?
“Eurydice” runs until June 27th at Signature Theatre (go Emily!!). And if you’re under 30, you can get $30 tickets with the Sig30 membership.
More theater reviews (and summer recommendations) to come!
Love,
Zoe
🥹🥹(me reading all of this!)
Awww I want to see community theater!!!