Twelfth Night February 5, 2011

The setting for Human Race Theatre's production of 'Twelfth Night' won't be Illyria. More like Elyria. Sir Toby Belch and friends and their plots, the love triangle and its mistaken identity move forward a few centuries and come to America. Spats replace tights, speakeasies replace palaces, as Shakespeare's words come alive in 1927. The play with the line "if music be the food of love, play on," will be joined by music of the era, from jazz to Broadway. But Malvolio will still lurk, the plotters will still plot, the lovers will remain confused, and the immortal words will still flow. The Bard call the antics of his play "midsummer madness," and they're a welcome escape from midwinter reality.