Shakespeare would be proud in Moorestown Township
Tickets are on sale for the Moorestown Friends School spring production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. All seats are reserved and can be purchased in Stokes Hall between 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on school days. No refunds or exchanges. Tickets are sold first come, first served basis. Seniors and adults can purchase tickets for $12, and students and children for $10.
Playing lead roles are: Joe Antonakakis, a senior from Voorhees (Feste the Jester), Kyle Shivers, a senior from Medford (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), Chukwuebuka Anayo, a junior from Mt. Laurel (Sir Toby Belch), Jeron Stephens, a senior from Camden (Orsino), Julia Rudolph, a senior from Haddonfield (Olivia), Katherine Churchill, a senior from Medford (Viola), Katie Loane, a senior from Mt. Holly (Maria), Toni Pollitt, a senior from Wiillingboro (Fabian) and Noah Rubenstein, a senior from Port Republic (Malvolio).
Shakespeare loved to use the device of mistaken identity, and nowhere does he use this convention more skillfully than in Twelfth Night. Viola, surviving a shipwreck, walks ashore at Illyria, and immediately embarks on a gambit to allow her to make her way in a world of men. Dressed as a man, Viola, now Cesario, insinuates herself into the service of the Duke of Illyria, Orsino. Orsino longs for the love of a neighboring countess, Olivia, who repels his advances. When Cesario (Viola) undertakes Orsino’s bidding and gains admittance to Olivia’s chamber, she becomes infatuated with the messenger. Viola (Cesario) then falls in love with Orsino.
To add to the farce, Viola’s (Cesario) identical twin, Sebastian arrives on the scene. Sebastian has also survived the shipwreck, although Viola thinks he has drowned. More confusion ensues with jealousy, mistaken identity, fights, duels, love and marriage. When Twelfth Night ends almost everyone is happy and Shakespeare speaks of the madness of love.
Moorestown Friends School is a day school founded by the Religious Society of Friends (also known as Quakers) in 1785.
