It seems right that the Delacorte Theater, after a renovation process lasting 18 months, should reopen with a comedy. The outdoor venue in Central Park, where the Public Theater had offered its free “Shakespeare in the Park” series for more than 60 years before temporarily closing the space for reconstruction, has always struck me as one of the city’s happiest places, where all theater lovers — not just the well-heeled types who increasingly dominate Broadway audiences as prices for decent seats keep rising — can take in shows directed and performed by talented, often high-profile artists.
The experience is, of course, even more delightful when the weather cooperates, as it did during a recent preview of the giddy new production of “Twelfth Night” that marks the Delacorte’s reopening. The staging — which clocks in at just under two hours, with no intermission — is helmed by Saheem Ali, the Public’s current associate artistic director and resident director, who has guided such exuberantly entertaining Broadway outings as “Fat Ham” (which had its New York premiere at the Public’s downtown home) and “Buena Vista Social Club.”
The company is characteristically starry, featuring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o — who met Mr. Ali while both were fledgling performers in their native country, Kenya — and Sandra Oh, a noted film and TV actress. Ms. Nyong’o is cast as Viola, who after being shipwrecked on the shore of Illyria — assuming that the twin brother who was traveling with her has drowned — disguises herself as a eunuch and winds up in the employ of Orsino, a duke.
Naturally, Viola, in the guise of Cesario, falls in love with Orsino, who is stubbornly pursuing Ms. Oh’s character, Olivia, who shares his noble stature — she’s a countess — but is mourning her own late brother and has no interest in the duke. Just as inevitably, when Orsino sends Cesario to Olivia to court her on his behalf, the countess is instantly attracted to the servant, having no idea that she has fallen for another woman.
A motley crew of supporting figures is on hand to thicken the plot and provide complementary pranks, from Viola’s twin, Sebastian, who is still very much alive — and is played here by Junior Nyong’o, the actress’s younger brother, making a graceful New York stage debut — to Olivia’s dissolute uncle, Sir Toby Belch, and her imperious chief of staff, Malvolio.
Mr. Ali infuses the shenanigans with the kind of contemporary social and cultural references that have become de rigueur in revisiting canonical works, particularly Shakespeare’s. Viola and Sebastian’s migrant status is reinforced by having both speak in Swahili at points, laying the groundwork for a lovely, touching exchange toward the end.
Orsino is presented in the vein of a hip-hop star or mogul; Khris Davis, muscular chest gleaming, can be a tad overzealous in emphasizing his arrogance. Actors playing other members of the duke’s staff are at one point seen, for good measure, simulating the sharp but silky moves of an older R&B outfit.
Ms. Nyong’o herself is tasked with rapping at points, and is charming, as she is generally in tracing Viola’s efforts to pass for a male. Without sacrificing the effortless regality she has brought to numerous film and theater roles, the actress projects a funny, endearing mix of eagerness, awkwardness, and warmth; that this Viola can never quite obscure her intrinsic elegance becomes part of the joke.
Ms. Oh’s earthy, witty Olivia is an ideal foil, her comical imperiousness never obscuring a glint of mischief. John Ellison Conlee and Jesse Tyler Ferguson have infectious fun as, respectively, Toby and his dimmer partner in misconduct, Andrew Aguecheek, and Peter Dinklage brings both wackiness and a touch of pathos to Malvolio — the one character for whom all doesn’t end well, and whose bitterness casts a pall on the otherwise happy ending.
Jaunty original music by Michael Thurber — much of it sung by Moses Sumney, stylishly androgynous as Feste, the clever fool — adds to the merriment, as do Oana Botez’s whimsical costumes, which are especially, scrumptiously over the top during the curtain call.
As for the Delacorte itself, changes include a rebuilt stage and a new redwood façade, and extend from backstage to the concessions facilities and restrooms. The vibe, fortunately, remains the same: communal and welcoming — particularly (though not exclusively, I’m sure) on a clear, temperate evening, with a slight breeze at your back.
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