Repertory Theatre kicks off its 2007-2008 Season with William Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfe Night, or What You Will

Seattle, WA – Seattle Repertory Theatre kicks off its 2007-2008 Season with William Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfe Night, or What You Will, directed by Seattle Rep Artistic Director David Esbjornson. Twelfe Night, or What You Will plays in the Bagley Wright Theatre from September 13 through October 20. Previews begin September 13, with opening night set for September 19. Tickets are available through the Seattle Repertory Theatre box office seven days a week at (206) 443-2222, toll-free at (877) 900-9285, as well as online at www.seattlerep.org.

The Play: This is one of Shakespeare’s most beautiful and haunting comedies. In Twelfe Night, or What You Will*, the inhabitants of Illyria are set awhirl by the absurdities of love. The Countess Olivia is deep in mourning, but her heart begins to warm when a shipwrecked Viola, disguised as a manservant, pays court to her for “his” master, Orsino. This play is famous for its clowns; the infamous drunk, Sir Toby Belch, and his band of party boys design a cruel joke on the priggish Malvolio in one of Shakespeare’s most memorable sub-plots. But Twelfe Night is also a bittersweet reminder about the frailty and vulnerability of love. Seattle Repertory Theatre’s production will feature many of the best Seattle actors, Nick Garrison, Mari Nelson, David Pichette and Charles Leggett, as well as talent from across the country.

*Twelfe Night, or What You Will is the spelling in the First Folio publication of Shakespeare’s work.

The Director: David Esbjornson has directed The Lady From Dubuque, The Great Gatsby, Tuesdays with Morrie and the world premiere of Ariel Dorfman’s Purgatorio for Seattle Rep. For seven years, Esbjornson was the artistic director of the Classic Stage Company. Mr. Esbjornson has been a resident director at the O’Neill Festival and Iowa Playwrights Festival, holds an M.F.A. from New York University (Seidman Award for Excellence in Directing), received a Quinn Martin Honorary Chair at University of California, San Diego and a Distinguished Alumni citation from Gustavus Adolphus College.

Performance Details: Performances of Twelfe Night, or What You Will are at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sundays. There will be no performance on Thursday, September 20. Pay-What-You-Can performance September 17 at 7:30 p.m. Post-play discussions will be held after performances on Sunday, September 30 at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, October 7 at 2:00 p.m. There is an audio-described performance on Saturday, October 6 at 2:00 p.m. and an American Sign Language (ASL)-interpreted performance on Sunday, October 7 at 2:00 p.m.