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Shakespeare At Welles Park: Here's Your 'Twelfth Night' Cheat Sheet

By Patty Wetli | August 5, 2016 1:30pm
 What to know before you go to Shakespeare in the Park at Welles Park.
What to know before you go to Shakespeare in the Park at Welles Park.
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Facebook/Chicago Shakespeare Theater

LINCOLN SQUARE — Don't know Mercutio from Malvolio?

We've got you covered.

Before you head to this weekend's production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" at Welles Park, here's a quick cheat sheet.

• Star-crossed lovers: "Twelfth Night" boasts two lovelorn couples — Orsino and Viola and Sebastian and Olivia. If we were Shakespeare, we might have chosen names for our heroines that weren't practically anagrams of each other, but who are we to criticize the greatest playwright ever.

• Mistaken identity: Viola arrives at the court of Duke Orsino disguised as a man named Cesario. Hijinks ensue when Orsino sends Cesario to woo Olivia on his behalf, and Olivia falls for Cesario, who is really Viola, who's in love with Orsino. In Facebook terms, it's complicated.

• Comic relief: There's a sub-plot involving characters named Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, which will please every 8-year-old boy in attendance.

• Bonus fun fact: "Twelfth Night" was one of the inspirations for the movie "Shakespeare in Love." "Write me well," Gwyneth Paltrow's Viola says to Will in their final parting.

The free 1-hour-and-15-minute abridged version of "Twelfth Night" is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.

 

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