Twelfth Night

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with original music by The Lobbyists

Director's Note:

Five years ago, we produced Twelfth Night in the midst of quarantine—it was necessarily

a small, intimate affair. When the Footlighters suggested returning to this show, it was

easy to say yes, not only because now we could have a larger audience but also because

the theme continues to resonate: we are still learning how to live, love, and laugh in

times of chaos.

Shakespeare knew something essential about chaos—that it is not the villain of the

story, but the story itself. In Illyria, a storm shipwrecks our heroes, scattering

identities, disrupting order, and upending every plan. What follows is not tragedy, but

transformation. Love tangles and untangles. Fools speak wisdom. The self-serious are

humbled. And through it all, life insists on its own unruly joy.

At the heart of this play lives a tension we all recognize: the human desire for order set

against the beautiful, maddening reality that chaos cannot be controlled. The fastidious

Malvolio tries and fails. Meanwhile, Feste the fool drifts through the chaos with a song,

reminding us that perhaps the answer isn't control, but presence. Not rigidity, but

resilience.

The play's final song, "The Wind and the Rain," names the true force at work in this

story: the storm that comes around "every day," the chaos that reshapes our lives again

and again, whether we're ready or not. We cannot stop the rain; we can only learn to

live in its presence.

This production is itself a testament to embracing creative chaos. We have 24 students

onstage—our largest Shakespeare cast in years—including a live band performing

original music by The Lobbyists, while another 20-plus students have been hard at

work behind the scenes. Our large, young company has brought enormous heart,

courage, and joy to this work and I could not be more proud of them.

So welcome to Illyria. Welcome to a world where nothing goes as planned, yet

somehow, miraculously, everything works out. May we all embrace life’s storms with

grace, humor, and perhaps a little music in our hearts.

Enjoy the show!

- Terry Samwick, Director