Snoop's Theatre Thoughts

Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
Directed by C. E. Gallagher
St. Louis Shakespeare
October 4, 2025

Image: St. Louis Shakespeare

Twelfth Night was St. Louis Shakespeare’s first show when the company was founded in 1984, and, this past weekend, it also became their last. It’s something of a bittersweet  feeling to see this fairly solid rendition of one of the Bard’s most well-known comedies while also knowing it’s a goodbye to this longtime staple of the St. Louis theatre scene. While it does have its uneven moments, for the most part, the tone was upbeat and the cast is was energetic in a reasonably straightforward rendition of this classic play.

The classic story of mixed up romance, mistaken identity, and mischievous pranks started off a bit slow, but gained in energy as the show carried on, with the strongest moments being the broadly comic ones, especially in the scenes involving Sir Toby Belch (Wil Spaeth), who is a relative of the melancholy Lady Olivia (Danielle Long), and his band of cohorts including Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Anthony Kramer)–a foppish would-be suitor to Olivia)–Olivia’s gentlewoman Maria (Rachel Grossman), servant Fabian (Theorri London), and Feste the fool (Kelli Rao), who scheme to embarrass arrogant, priggish steward Malvolio (Anthony Pounders). These scenes were especially entertaining, with a good deal of energy and physical comedy, and with standout moments from Kramer, Grossman, and Rao especially, with the latter displaying a strong singing voice and ukulele skills. Pounders was also ideally cast as Malvolio despite occasionally struggling with volume.

The main plot, featuring the shipwrecked Viola (Kalani Cing) who disguises herself as a boy and serves the Duke Orsino (Devin Moses)–was also well-done if a bit unevenly cast, since, although Cing is excellent, I saw no real chemistry between Viola and Orsino; and Long, as Olivia, was much stronger in her more comic moments than in the more “serious” opening scenes. John Rogan was fine as Viola’s twin Sebastian, although the idea that these two could be mistaken for one another was harder to believe than usual. There was also a good turn from Imene Tabet as sailor Antonia. 

There aren’t any gimmicks or unusual settings in this production. The fairly basic platform set surrounded by pillars was painted by Sammi Reise in appropriate whimsical colors, but there’s no designer listed in the program. The costumes by Barb Dwyer and Rachel Grossman are a lot of fun and period appropriate, with one memorable additional costume for Malvolio created by Tracey Newcomb. The lighting by Zak Metalksy was adequate, as was the sound by Aiden Byrnes, for the most part, although some of the actors had issues with projection that sometimes made the show more difficult to follow. The overall setting was traditionally Elizabethan, and for the most part, that tone was well-maintained.

It’s sad to see St. Louis Shakespeare closing up shop. I’ve seen some great shows from them over the years, and this last one is a solid if not spectacular send-off. It’s an entertaining Twelfth Night overall, and I wish it had been able to run for more than one weekend.