Word: malvolio
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Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (Spoken Word, 3 LPs) gets a fine new production by the players of the Dublin Gate Theatre, with Michael MacLiammoir as Malvolio, "sick of self-love," posturing his priggish way with timeless vulgarity. London is also out with a spate of Shakespeare-Coriolamis, Othello, Julius Caesar, Richard II-in a series of journeyman readings by the Marlowe Society players, who eventually will press all the plays. One of the most majestically read of the talking books is MGM's Joseph Conrad, in which Sir Ralph Richardson whittles Youth and Heart of Darkness to half...
...better play up the farcical opportunities and invent a lot of by-play. Still, I only have two hours and a half. Well, I'll do a little pruning here and there in the text; and I guess I'll just have to omit the whole taunting of Malvolio in prison, though I realize it's the climax of the entire anti-Malvolio plotting. This does mean I'm upsetting Shakespeare's delicately balanced construction; but that will have to yield just this once to allow for my additions, because, after all, I've got to have a really festive...
...Theatre. High up, Lester Polakov (whose costumes add much to the general lightness and brightness) has affixed a number of white, stylized orange-tree tops. And by having spikes driven into the poles, Berghof has enabled people to scamper up to a third level. In the garden scene where Malvolio discovers the faked letter, Berghof has a whole crew of people costumed as animals and perches them in the treetops with all manner of animal noise-makers to razz Malvolio (one of them even hits Malvolio with the contents of a water pistol...
...combatants, Berghof has his Dancing Zany beat a drum during the dueling--an historically authentic touch. There are many other instances of inspired staging. And at the end, instead of having everyone exit and leave Feste alone to sing the closing song, Berghof brings everybody on stage, even Malvolio, and has each principal sing a solo bit as in a massed opera buffa finale...
...cold-voiced Malvolio, Fritz Weaver is adequate. His best moment, though, occurs when he is speechless: in his cross-gartered scene he brings along the forged letter and, misinterpreting Olivia's question, "Wilt thou go to bed, Malvolio?," drops it on the ground in stunned amazement. William Daniels' Sebastian leaves a favorable impression. Frederick O'Neal looks the part of the sea-captain Antonio, but his Shakespearean diction is woefully deficient...