‘Twelfth Night’ Energizes

Premiere receives standing ovation

Anna Tao | Staff Writer

T he premiere of the “Twelfth Night” musical showing on Friday, Mar. 10 was electric, so much so that the performance garnered a standing ovation from every single audience member. The show was clearly a smashing success, from wildly hilarious lines and delivery, to melancholy and profound tunes about forbidden love, losing family, and questioning societal gender roles.

The musical is set on a fantastical island named Illyria, in which drama let loose, especially between those courting Olivia, played by Kimora Collins ‘23 . This modern remake included traditional Shakespearean lines of dialogue, while the musical instrumental takes a more modern take, shifting the trajectory of the musical into an even more fun, jazzy showing.

Here are seven thoughts I had while watching this truly wonderful show.

1. Despite the fact that this is a funeral, those parasols are so colorfully fun, and so is this live jazz instrumental.

2. That costume change from Anika Rodriguez ‘23 was so speedy, how’d she even pull it off?

3. I’m not going to lie, the only thing I can focus on right this second is the heartfelt and seriously relatable reactions of Saléya Scott ‘25 while playing that tambourine.

4. I think every single performer is a siren or something because, to put it simply, vocals!

5. The jazz numbers in this have me resisting the urge to stand up, jump on stage, and frantically dance with the cast members. Seriously. So. Good.

6. Malvolio, played by Alan Hodder ‘25 , has a self-love that I think we all strive to somewhat achieve.

7. From strangers to friends, friends into lovers, and then lovers into…sisters?

For Cynthia Lyman ‘24, lacrosse is a family affair. For Dane Borene ‘24, getting an offer to a D1 school for football is the last thing he expected.

Spring means one thing for upperclassmen: prom season. Online shopping carts are filled, orders are shipped, and dresses sell out rapidly.

Arts and Culture Page: 3 one of the leaders of the Unified Committee, thought that the event went amazing. Mehra, a big contributor to the planning of this basketball game, says that the turnout was great “not only from the basketball team, but also volunteers… we had more volunteers than basketball athletes.”

After the game, varsity boys’ basketball captain Ian Schnabel ‘25 said that, “[He] really enjoyed it, [and] it was a fun environment to be a part of. [It was] something that I started doing as a freshman, and as a leader [of the] basketball program, [it’s] always just a fun thing to do every year.” His teammate, Carson McMichael ‘26, said that “It was very fun… the game was just great energy and great vibes all around.”

Lisa Sackreiter, Director of

Service Learning and Community Engagement, described that “after the game [the players] go down and have some pizza,” a time to socialize and build community with Western Wings players.

Director of Global Programs Dion Crushshon ‘88 and physics teacher Steve Kaback coached the game. Kaback said that “this was an incredible collection of players. I loved the Western Wings players, [and] they came in with a lot of talent, and I thought that the Blake participants did exactly the right thing. They were aggressive, they hustled, and got the ball and got rebounds, so it was really fun.” Kaback also says that he would “be happy to participate in this game again,” and that it was “a great way to bring our two communities together.”