June 26, 2009

'Twelfth Night' in Central Park draws excellent reviews

Critics are calling “Twelfth Night” with Anne Hathaway one of the best Shakespeare in the Park productions in years.

She more than holds her own in the comedy with the likes of Audra McDonald, Raul Esparza, Julie White, Michael Cumpsty, David Pittu, Stark Sands and Jay O. Sanders.

Although the show is free, the problem remains: How to get tickets?

For the online ticket lottery, enter online between midnight and 1 p.m. any day a performance is scheduled. Log back in after 1 p.m. to see if you’ve scored a pair of tickets to that night’s show. If so, you need to pick up the tickets at the Delacorte Theatre box office in Central Park between 6 and 7:30 p.m. All the unclaimed tickets will be released to the in-person stand-by line starting at 7:30 p.m. However, at least during previews when ticket demand is usually less intense, there were nights everyone in the stand-by line received tickets as early as 7 p.m. (Twitter Search can be a useful real-time tool if you’re trying to gauge a strategy.)

The old-fashioned ticket distribution is still in place, and is actually how the majority of the seats are distributed: The box office at the Delacorte starts handing out free tickets at 1 p.m., but the line forms much earlier. (Central Park map.)

You can also make a $170 tax-deductible contribution to the Public Theater to get a single reserved ticket to one performance.

A canceled-for-rain decision is not made until 8 p.m. at the earliest.

“Twelfth Night” plays through July 12 at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays at 8 p.m.

The reviews:
Variety - ” It’s hard to imagine a more satisfying staging of the crowd-pleasing romantic comedy than this one orchestrated by director Daniel Sullivan, a superb design team and an impeccable cast assembled around Anne Hathaway, who makes a thoroughly winning and accomplished professional Shakespeare debut. Add in the soul-stirring music of neo-folk ensemble Hem and you have one magical night in Illyria.”

New York Times - “But this polished staging, expertly directed by Daniel Sullivan, is the most consistently pleasurable the city has seen in at least a decade. And it is certainly one of the most accomplished Shakespeare in the Park productions the Public Theater has fielded in some time.”

Newsday - “Where has Anne Hathaway been all our theater lives? OK, we know all about the sizzling movie career, blah, blah. But she takes to the stage in “Twelfth Night” - incredibly, her professional Shakespeare debut - with the intelligence, charm and dazzle of someone who has always belonged right up there.”

Post - “Despite occasional mumbling, her Viola is delightful and endearing in a puppyish way. Like the colorful, fast-paced production itself — the three hours positively fly by — Hathaway is light on her feet. She may not unearth any new nuances in the part, but it’s also difficult not to bask in her contagious enthusiasm.”

Bloomberg - “Sullivan is, to be sure, a canny director and you may observe countless clever staging touches. These include making the knolls of John Lee Beatty’s ravishing, if problematic set into veritable playground slides; having the newly deluded Malvolio first appear as a fatuously smiling, seemingly disembodied Cheshire-cat head; getting the scared Sir Andrew Aguecheek fall as if thunderstruck flat on his back; and much, much more. “

Associated Press - “This revival practically floats through the night air at the outdoor Delacorte Theater where a sterling ensemble shines in the Bard’s blissful take on mismatched romances and the things besotted creatures do for love, both real or imagined.”

Hollywood Reporter - “Anne Hathaway and the rest of the starry ensemble shine in this magical Shakespeare production.”

amNewYork - “But Sullivan’s most appealing contribution was the addition of a small folk band at the side of the stage, allowing his cast to show off their strong voices whenever possible.”

Steve on Broadway - “During my particularly wet performance, I was struck by how unfazed Sullivan’s excellent ensemble seemed to be by the downpour. Indeed, immediately after the first scene of the second act, a rain hold was called. While the showers continued even after the hold was lifted one half hour later, the cast brought home such determined joy, that it was hard not to feel a symbiotic affinity with them for having braved the storm together with you.”

The second Shakespeare in the Park production this summer will be Euripides’ “The Bacchae,” which will feature Jonathan Groff and a choral score by Philip Glass. “The Bacchae” will play from Aug. 11 to 30.

Update: See more reviews.

Earlier: ‘Twelfth Night’ kicks off Shakespeare in the Park

June 26, 2009 8:32 AM in Broadway

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