12 Nights The Hypocrites

"very genial hour ..  exceptionally welcoming atmosphere" -  Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
Four stars“It's a nimble, delightfully goofy evening that had me laughing more than any show in recent memory” Kris Vire, TimeOut Chicago
".. around seventy minutes of consistently engaging (and often uproariously hilarious) theater.”Zach Freeman, NewCity Chicago


Showing ~ Fri 730p; Sat 730p, 10p; Sun 3p; Mon 730p

Tickets $28.  Reservations 773-525-5991


08/14/13 - 10/6/13

Fri 730p; Sat 730p & 10p; Sun 3p; Mon 730p


Shakespearean mashup has Sean Graney's light touch - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune 8/21/14.  "Most directors who set themselves the task of boiling down William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" to a mere hour of theatrical traffic would find themselves writhing in agony at what to leave out. Not Sean Graney, who must always sleep well at night.


For his "12 Nights," Graney not only slices and dices Shakespeare's text, but he adds in bits from Barnabe Riche's "Apolonius and Silla" (one of the Bard's sources) and the anonymous Italian play "Gi'Ingannati" (likely one of the sources of that source). And yet he still finds time for a rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."


Graney is the real deal and, in general, I am a fan of his mashups. This four-actor "12 Nights" is very much in the same style as Graney's previous, hourlong take on "Romeo and Juliet," with both pieces set in a neutral hangout space — a kind of rec room, with the audience seated on lawn chairs — and both all about catching the recycled essence of love rather than its historical context. This "12 Nights" (which is designed by the cast of Tien Doman, Zeke Sulkes, Christine Stulik and Jeff Trainor) comes with any number of witticisms, including a little collage of those pine-scented auto air fresheners doubling as the landscape of Illyria and a dominant role for the mix tapes made by lovers.

And despite the ancient sources, Graney also adds a few lines on the order of "My lord, you sound awesome." Or, in one particular amusing moment, "Thou hast been punked."

 

Given all the pretentious conceptualists out there, the warmth and openness of Graney's basement notions are major assets. Indeed, "12 Nights," with its ample amounts of audience singalongs, is a very genial hour that would make a pleasing appetizer for a late-summer date or a post-show nosh. It is an exceptionally welcoming atmosphere, thanks to a cast that makes such inclusiveness a priority. And this is, for sure, a goofy show. In August, a little goofiness fits the bill. Those long nights of textual angst can wait until after Labor Day.


That said, "12 Nights" does not work as well as Graney's "Romeo Juliet," partly because the energy is more diffuse and does not drive toward a climax with the same force. The show feels a tad slight. Maintaining this style of chilled-out amusement and at the same time ensuring sufficient high stakes for the drama to have import is a tricky combo — Graney is more successful in the former than the latter.

Doman is a very funny Malvolio, Stulik a sweet wooer, Trainor an earnest suitor and Sulkes an especially genial host. But love unrequited ain't no fun at all and we could use more of a look at that dread behind the craving lovers' eyes.


12 Nights Loses sight of the Bard - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times 8/19/13
"The first lines of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” a comedy of love, pride, melancholy, gender confusion and class, are quoted often: “If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die.”

But who would have guessed that the lovesick, thwarted Duke Orsino would ever think of wooing his beloved and elusive Countess Olivia by putting together a mixtape of pop songs?

Well, if you know the work of The Hypocrites, and adapter-director Sean Graney — the company’s dizzying deconstructivist — this should come as no surprise. Nor should his hourlong condensation of the play full of broadly morphing characterizations by his ready-for-anything cast of four (Tien Doman, Christine Stulik, Zeke Sulkes and Jeff Trainor). Nor should the astroturf and plastic beach chair environment, the party vibe fueled by Oreos and bubble gum, and the yellow leg warmers used as a clever equivalent for cross-garters of a century long gone.

Unfortunately, Graney’s “12 Nights” feels more like a drunken frat party than anything else. And while I am far from a Shakespeare purist (I was a huge fan of the Q Brothers’ beat-for-beat hip-hop production, “Othello: The Remix” at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater), any “translation” should remain true to the spirit of the language and story in some real way.

Far too often, “12 Nights” (which I saw at its final preview) not only devolves into a brash screaming match, but it renders the tale (drawn from Shakespeare and a couple of lesser known sources) all but unintelligible to those unfamiliar with the original. In fact, rather than being “pop accessible,’ this production is something of an inside joke. And much of the play’s humor (and pain), gets lost or bludgeoned.

The mismatched pairs here include Duke Orsino (Trainor), who is in pursuit of the standoffish Countess Olivia (Stulik), who claims she is still in mourning for her brother. Yet when the Duke recruits Cesario (Sulkes) — a girl, Viola, in disguise as a boy — to woo the Countess for him, she falls in love with “him.” And Viola falls for the Duke. In the interim there is much ado at the houses of both Orsino and Olivia as their servants, including Olivia’s steward, Malvolio (Doman), act up or are acted upon.

Graney’s version savages much of the original language, without replacing it with anything of equal value. And as whimsical an idea as it might be for a play about music and off-kilter love to spin out in a mixtape score (with snatches of Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” Foreigner’s “I’ve Been Waiting for a Girl Like You,” The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame,” and more), none of this substitutes for the lack of clarity, subtlety or emotional connection.


The Hypocrites let ’80s music be the food of laughs in a freewheeling adaptation - Kris Vire, TimeOut Chicago 8/19/13.  "Sean Graney's bouncy new adaptation of Twelfth Night draws elements from Shakespeare's own likely sources (Barnabe Riche's Apolonius and Silla and the anonymous Italian comedy Gl'Ingannati), and much of the text here is clearly the invention of Graney and his cast. But the Bard's opening line remains intact: "If music be the food of love, play on." And the music here is pure boom-box pop, 1980s vintage.


The lovelorn Duke (Jeff Trainor) sends his missives to the lady Olivia (Christine Stulik) as painstakingly crafted mixtapes of songs like the Bangles' "Eternal Flame" and Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," while Olivia's "addiction to melancholy" is represented by The Cure's "Pictures of You." The soundtrack is among many clever touches placing Illyria in a Lite-Brite colored, legwarmered limbo.


Like Graney's 2012 spin on Romeo Juliet, 12 Nights was created for and with the ensemble of four actors, who also collectively designed the production. They've painted the walls of the Chopin Theatre's basement in rainbow stripes, calling to mind an ’80s roller rink; the playing area, carpeted in Astroturf, is lined with jewel-toned lawn chairs. (Audience seating is limited, but there's plenty of standing room behind the chairs.)


Leaving design to the cast results in some inevitable limitations: the actors are neither trained lighting designers nor electricians, so the space is illuminated entirely in practical instruments that stay at full strength throughout. Yet the ensemble embraces this environment, tossing out the fourth wall and adroitly including the audience in the proceedings. We're quickly made to understand the production's physical language: When an actor takes a seat, she's "offstage," and when she stands again she's likely switched to another character.

The piece takes great advantage of this doubling and tripling in a comedy of love disguised. It's only natural in one sense for the same actor (Zeke Sulkes) to play separated twins Sebastian and Viola, the latter of whom disguises herself as a boy, Cesario. But Sulkes smartly takes a moment to let any initial confusion about a man playing a woman playing a man pass: "Get used to it," he tells us. Tien Doman plays both the joy-killing Malvolio and the fun-loving Lady Maria, with Stulik doubling as Olivia's bumbling suitor with a perfectly indeterminable European accent. Trainor meanwhile places his voice for Sir Toby Belch somewhere between Here Comes Honey Boo Boo's Mama June and Will Ferrell's Harry Caray.


In just over an hour, Graney and his cast encapsulate the spirit of Shakespeare's comedy while savoring the opportunity to poke fun at its more ridiculous leaps. (Why does Sebastian agree to wed Olivia, a stranger to him who's mistaken him for Cesario? As Sulkes has previously established, Sebastian and his sister are both "really into marriage.") It's a nimble, delightfully goofy evening that had me laughing more than any show in recent memory; as an aperitif for the fall theater season, it feels like the perfect mix"



12 Nights - Zach Freeman, NewCity Chicago 8/19/13.  "In his time, Shakespeare’s plays, particularly his comedies, were meant to entertain the masses. These early situational comedies (yes, sitcoms) were borderline interactive, with a small (all male) troupe playing multiple roles. The Hypocrites’ version of “Twelfth Night” (adapted and directed by Sean Graney and rechristened “12 Nights”) captures this ebullient Shakespearean spirit even as it strips down, modernizes and even mocks many of the original plot points.


Waiting in the lower lobby of the Chopin Theatre, the audience is warmly greeted by the show’s energetic ensemble (Tien Doman, Christine Stulik, Seke Sulkes and Jeff Trainor) before being ushered into a staging area that features free cookies, a disco ball, a chance to write on the walls with markers and some “great ’80s jams.” From this pre-show party those audience members with seats are invited to the actual set, a small section of astroturf surrounded by multi-colored lawn chairs, rainbow-striped walls and dangling air fresheners. The rest of the audience is then invited in to stand and watch from any available spot in the room.


“Thank you for spending your time and money on live theatre. I understand how valuable both are to you,” reads Graney’s director’s notes in the program. And this relatively democratic seating (or non-seating) arrangement instantly creates a laid-back atmosphere that allows the audience to comfortably invest themselves in around seventy minutes of consistently engaging (and often uproariously hilarious) theater.


The tightly knit cast, clad in hip street clothes, gather around a mini-fridge to clasp hands before bursting into the opening moments of the show. “If music be the food of love, play on!” declares Duke Orsino (Trainor) as he creates the umpteenth mixtape (featuring a live cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”) for his unrequited crush Lady Olivia (Stulik).
Whether it’s “Eternal Flame” or “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” music is strongly featured throughout the show, with a prominently placed boombox blaring out recognizable tunes from various cassette tapes the cast (who also serve as designers for the show) burnish and play themselves.


From its opening moments, the cast’s enthusiasm is infectious. As the audience was filing in, an ensemble member told me (and another audience member wearing sandals) to take our shoes off and rub our bare feet on the astroturf because “it feels good.” This seems to be the general concept of the production: get comfortable and enjoy. As the show progresses, ensemble members are constantly dropping in and out of character, breaking the fourth wall to become part of the audience and enjoy the performance along with the rest of us.
 

“This is Illyria, buddy,” declares Trainor to a newly rescued Viola (Sulkes). And this conversational style continues throughout the performance, providing something of a “welcome to Shakespeare” introduction to those who may be unfamiliar with the Bard’s words and a solid inside-joke style to the previously initiated. The Hypocrites’ most impressive feat here is pulling off a fully formed show that both honors the traditional Shakespeare and playfully mocks its silliest plot-points.


Audience members are constantly reminded that they are, in fact, attending a theatrical production, with cast members smiling at them, pointing to them and even asking one specially seated member to participate briefly. Still, by the time the show reaches its conclusion, it’s hard not to be fully invested in the plight of every character involved, even the woefully diabolical Malvolio (Doman). “Twelfth Night” may be a Christmas-centric show (referencing the twelve nights of Christmas) but “12 Nights” is a solidly entertaining summer production, merely asking that its audience take off their shoes, stop and smell the astroturf"


From The Hypocrites - 12 Nights - In this adaptation of multiple sources, including Barnabe Riche’s Apolonius and Silla, William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and an anonymous Italian play Gl' Ingannati, people fall in love, have fun and drink a lot. Featuring a cast of only four actors (Tien Doman, Christine Stulik, Zeke Sulkes and Jeff Trainor) that also serve as the production designers, The Hypocrites produce 12 Nights in the same economic style as Romeo Juliet (recently remounted in various “target parks” for underserved populations). Expect as much energy and joy as one can find in any Wicker Park basement stocked with refreshing 6-packs of romance.

Author
William Shakespeare

Director
Sean Graney

Performers
Tien Doman, Christine Stulik, Jeff Trainor, Zeke Sulkes

Production
Tien Doman, Christine Stulik, Jeff Trainor, Zeke Sulkes. Stage manager - Justine Palsimano. Light and Sound Operation - Miranda Anderson. Photography - Matthew Gregory Hollis

Tags: Theater, American, 2013