American Players Theater's closing production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night was up to the company's usual fabulous standards.

I won't summarize the plot, but for those who are unfamiliar with the the tale, it should be known that it involves shipwreck, disguised gender, a love triangle, misguided wooing, outlaws, mistaken identity, comeupance, reconciliation, and promises of revenge (not to mention singing, dancing, and a fight or two).

Colleen Madden's Viola makes a passable boy as Cesario (the audience, of course, sees right through it, but one can see that the other characters would not). I was not very taken with either Jim De Vuta's Duke Orsino or Tracy Michelle Arnold's Countess Olivia, though I have yet to put my finger on why. I am also a little unclear as to what was going on with Sebastian (Shawn Fagan) and the outlaw sea captain, Antonio (Marcus Truschinski). I believe I will have to reread the play to sort out that part of the storyline.

The show was stolen by the servants, clown, and second-tier nobility. Sarah Day was wickedly funny as Maria, urging the men around her to hilarious mischief. Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Jonanthan Smoots and Mark Corkins, respectively, played off each other in ever greater feats of drunken folly. At one point, I believe that Corkins cracked up not just the other characters, but their players as well with his antics. Fabian (Wayne T. Carr) and Feste (C. Michael Wright) completed the circle of rascals and jokers. The butt of their jests, Malvolio, was played by the wonderful James Ridge. Through the course of the play he moves from officious and puritanical to foppish and obsequious to confused to vengeful.

The play ended rather jarringly, but that was the work of the playwright, not the players. The usual comedic happy ending gets a bit of a twist, as no one seems entirely happy with their final situation. It leaves a lingering feeling of "What was that?"

There couldn't have been a lovelier night on which to end the APT season. After a summer plagued by frequently cool and rainy weather, the October evening was clear and mild. As the autumn sun faded from the sky, the warmth of the day faded with it, but not by much. We were quite comfortable in the audience, and never distracted by shivering. Also, the bugs of summer had mostly disappeared, so it was the best of both worlds. Driving back to Madison following the performance, we were treated to a great, golden moonrise.

And now it is time to start counting the months until the next APT season.