Musical Theatre

Musical Theatre

The Main components for a Musical are:

• ·         Song
• ·         Dance
• ·         Dialogue

Musical emerged from opera’s via operettas (mini opera’s), which were invented by Gilbert and Sullivan. Their works included ‘The Mikado’, ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ and ‘HMS pinafore’. These are still popular performances of today.

The Mikado: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U92t8XO-L4w

The Pirates of Penzance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp1BL0Gb6Ok

HMS Pinafore at BBC Proms 2005: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odBDjYK1gz4

Gilbert and Sullivan:

·         Sir William Gilbert (1836-1911) was the dramatist and Lyricist.

·         Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) was the composer.

Their works became known as the Savoy operas.

In the 1920’s:

Most shows in urban areas were revues, Combing vaudeville, variety, music hall and other disciplines.

The first proper musical as we know it was ‘Showboat’ (1927)

Showboat Broadway Revival (1994): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdkWyH7qGdE

Showboat integrated book and score and was put together by P.G Wodehouse and Oscar Hammerstein II.

1930’s:

Inspired by the success of Showboat, creative teams began following the same format.

·         Comedy

·         A story

·         Music

·         Visuals

Broadway:

Broadway became the centre for the genre. Shows were notably written by

• ·         Ira and George Gershwin.
• ·         Cole Porter
• ·         Irving Berlin

Major Musicals, 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s:

It began with Oklahoma! In 1943, it was the first blockbuster musical, giving 2212 performances. 

Rodgers and Hammerstein:

·         Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) wrote the music.

·         Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) wrote the words.

The duo wrote: Oklahoma! (Including ‘oh what a beautiful morning’), Carousel (including ‘you’ll never walk alone’), South pacific, The King and I (including ‘Getting to know you’) and The Sound of Music.

Later Blockbusters:

By this time, musicals were big money. They also produced stars. By the late 1950’s musicals was the mainstream of theatre.

·         My Fair Lady (Frederick Loewe 1956)

National Broadway Tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TCBzjkAryE

·         West Side Story (Bernstein, Sondheim 1957)

Highlights of the Broadway production: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoE5Y6peV9E

·         Gypsy (Steven Sondheim 1959)

Original Theatrical Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5175bV18MM

Steven Sondheim:

Steven was a childhood friend of Jimmy Hammerstein (son of Oscar)

Hammerstein was a major influence on him, creating a remarkable ‘apprenticeship’. Hammerstein advised Sondheim as to how to construct a musical. West Side Story was his first project.

Some Practitioners went onto experiment with creating musicals around other styles:

Jesus Christ Superstar (1970) = Rock

Broadway Montage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGGjgT6fKns

·         Hair (1967)=Rock

Musical Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_BgFSy0M4E

·         God Spell (1971)= Rock

Broadway Trailer Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgof_tXWtJs

·         The Wiz (1975)=Gospel

'He's a wizard': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3LF-852F_I

Chorus line (Michael Bennet 1976) was about people auditioning for a musical.

Official London Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmg1sYwn3Us

·         Cabaret (Kander/Ebb) 1966) was about Nazi Germany.

fUK Tour Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQyQOIX8wEE

·         Chicago (Kander/Fosse/Ebb 1975) was set during prohibition.

Broadway Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyL_izT4Rgc

The other major Broadway musical of the 70’s was ‘Annie’ (but less controversial).

80’s and 90’s:

Boubil and Schonberg (france) were important writers in this period.

They brought us:

Miss Saigon

Broadway Musical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dIZlkMbgnE

·         Les Miserables

Official Tour Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgnf_zC8lag

Now a Major Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuEFm84s4oI

02 Arena 25th Anniversy (2010): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq36ieYP9YU

·         Martin Guerre

Royal Variety Peformance 1996: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40i4SAoBqto

Andrew Lloyd Webber:

Lloyd Webber’s first success was ‘Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ with Tim Rice when he was 19 in 1968.

·         Jesus Christ superstar (1970)

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGGjgT6fKns

·         Evita (1976)

Broadway Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m68iXHKF6c

·         Cats (1981)

Musical Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H2WvG3J2FQ

·         Starlight Express (1984)

Promo Video (Germany): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1WRYoM6vRM

UK Tour Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWiBbsJtpZ0

·         Phantom of the Opera (1986)

West End Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6eiO01unps

Royal Albert Hall, Sarah Brightman & Antonio Banderas (1998): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiYRASDlq-0

·         Aspects of love (1990)

Royal Variety Performance (1989): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psXg3T7rMeY

·         Sunset Boulevard (1993)

Production Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcr4h3JpNQY

·         Whistle Down the Wind (1996)

·         The Beautiful Game (2001)

·         The Woman in White (2004)

Preview Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDebiGIXQxA

Disney:

Saw the potential to move into the musicals market after it had small scale successes with shows in their theme parks.

Beauty and the Beast (1994) was written by Tim Rice.

Tour Montage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uizVpwvlNRI + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sES2o2Vy8RM

Northen Ballet's version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLthkAt3hiw

The Lion King (1997) was a collaboration between Tim Rice and Elton John.

Disney Presents The Lion King on Broadway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pgZtzDj_7o

West End Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FwkGDEOTwM

Disney has since then produced:

·         The Little Mermaid

·         Tarzan

·         High School Musical 1,2&3

·         Mary Poppins

And are currently working on:

·         Dumbo

·         Aladdin

·         Alice in Wonderland

·         The hunchback of Notre dame

Modern Musicals:

‘Rent’ was the most successful musical of the 90’s.

A trend of the noughties was musicals based upon the music of popular recording artists- Queen, Boy George, Elvis, The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, Rod Stewart- an most notably ‘Mamma Mia’.

New Successes-

No one expected musical theatre to be such a success in the current economic climate, but there have been a number of successes and popular shows.

·         The producers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA4tvn0WGwA

·         Hairspray: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8xgINPB4MM

·         Avenue Q: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi_lveRFdwI

·         The Witches of Eastwick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDJG4Wp-TNU

·         Sweet charity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BaUET2ma8Y

·         Billy Elliot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a_kJbRylYQ

·         The Lord of the Rings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbF88CUeyYQ

·         Dirty Dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci0qYbY_cV8

·         Legally Blonde: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txW5FZtp54o

·         Sister Act: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll1gFK7OUFg

·         

There are several Major projects currently in production such as:

·         The Moulin Rouge

·         Spiderman-now showing

·         Nine

·         American Idiot

·         Shrek-Now showing

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdulPHjKSz4

·         Sweeny Todd-Now showing

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKkSMI4f4rA

·         Karen

·         Rasputin

·         Dream Girls

PINTER (1930-2008)

PINTER (1930-2008)

It was his early plays that made his reputation such as ‘The Homecoming’ (1964) and his middle-period work such as ‘No man’s land’ (1976) that have been called ‘Comedies of Menace’. Typically, they all use what a first seems like an Innocent Situation and develop into an absurd and threatening environment through actions that usually are inexplicable to the audience and sometimes even to the other characters in the play. Typically a PINTER drama is dark and claustrophobic. His language is full of menacing pauses. The lives of Pinter’s characters usually are revealed to be stunted by guilt and horror. The duality and absurdity of Pinter’s theatrical world-view gave rise to the adjective ‘Pinteresque’ 

His works:

·         The Birthday Party (1958)

Steppenwolf Theatre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6v6mGGtSI

·         The Caretaker (1960)

·         The Homecoming (1965)

Standard Deviation Theatre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imeo3wZgcdA

·         Old times (1971)

·         No Man’s Land (1975)

·         The Hothouse

National Theatre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmjU5YZVnac

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS (1911-1983)

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS (1911-1983)

As a Playwright, it was HENRIK LBSEN who had the greatest impact on Tennessee Williams. Williams learned Scandinavian literary dialect used by Lbsen to better understand his plays. He suffered from depression, and feared ging mad. He was briefly institutionalised in 1969 after a severe nervous breakdown, and never forgave his younger brother for allowing his to be put into a madhouse.

His works:

·         The Glass Menagerie (1945)

Chorn Theatre Greece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5tPoZ8xnT0

·         A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

Dr Challoner's Grammer School: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROITJKWK3P4

Dr Challoner's Grammar School have contextualized A Streetcar Named Desire by putting a Young  Cast in the roles that had adult play, they also brought a tiny bit of modern day aspects to the production, Another thing that they did was that Students Produced and Directed the play which added it's very own twist to the production.

·         Cat on a hot tin Roof (1955)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0MYTrWMAA0

·         Orpheus Descending (1557)

·         Suddenly last Summer (1958)

·         Sweet Bird of Youth (1959)

Old Vic Theatre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X12x1DwcQBc

SAMUEL BECKET (1906-1996)

SAMUEL BECKET (1906-1996)

He was one of the twentieth century’s most important writers, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969. Samuel becket was the author of ‘Waiting for Godot’ (1952) one of the few plays in theatrical history to redefine the possibilities of the medium long fascinated by the cinema (especially silent comedies, which was a huge influence on much of his work including ‘Godot’) 

Waiting for Gobot (2010): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm96MZS48lA

WYPlayhouse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHJslbN8dpg

Other works:

·         Krapp’s last tape (1958)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpZ9MnUGfU4

·         Endgame (1957)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfvp2rsWasM

·         Happy Days (1961)

National Theatre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0e-ulwCL5U

·         Not 1 (1973)

CONTEMPORAY THEATRE: IBSEN (1828-1906)

CONTEMPORAY THEATRE (Usually Plays After 1930’s)

IBSEN (1828-1906)

Ibsen was a playwright in the late 1800’s, he wrote many plays but two in particular caused some controversy.

A Dolls’ House:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOuFocD10hU

a Short film responding to a Doll's House: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CY8s2MqPyM

This Short Film is a Contextualized version of A Doll's House, Nora the main character is the same as the original play, it shows a hectic day in her life from the morning to the evening, but then we see Nora leave the children in the garden for the dad to find when he got home, the whole 9 minutes is a modernized twist on the original but keeping on the same plot line.

A Doll’s House explores the oppression of women.  The female character Nora leaves her husband and children because she wants a life of her own. To 19^th Century Europe the idea of a woman not only forsaking her marriage vows but also displaying a mind of her own and renouncing her duty of unquestioning obedience to her husband was considered indecent and scandalous.

Ghosts 1882:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FcxIyC5Dy8

Ghosts touched on subjects that were completely forbidden, dealing with Syphilis, Adultery, Free Love, Incest and Euthanasia. It caused a violent uproar and none of the theatres staged it.

Biography's: 

http://www.biography.com/people/henrik-ibsen-37014

http://www.mnc.net/norway/Ibsen.htm

ANTONIN ARTAUD (1896-1948)

ANTONIN ARTAUD (1896-1948)

·          French Actor/Director/Playwright/Poet
·         His Dramatic theories have inspired others
·         Believed theatre must break away from literary connections and become an exorcism in which the audience is frightened/bewitched/spiritually overwhelmed
·         He saw theatre as an instrument of devastating power to free people from moral restraint
·         Believed drama is inside man himself
·         That drama transcends the need to understand language.

ARTAUD and Design:

·         Symbolic
·         ‘other than’
·         ‘Stands for’
·         Mind over matter
·         Things can become completely something else

YouTube Links:

Theatre of Cruelty, Antonin Artaud: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZAYe1HMIYU

BERTOLT BRECHT (1896-1956)

BERTOLT BRECHT (1896-1956)

An Introduction to Brechtian Theatre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-828KqtTkA

·         German Playwright/Theorist/director

·         Wanted to use plays to engage the audience in political debate

·         He developed the alienation effect to remind the audience that they were watching a play.

The Alienation effect:

·         This Alienation method uses very specific devices to distance the audience so that they can debate themes within the piece/meaning of the play.
·         This follows the idea theatre can never be real.
·         Less attention paid to set and costume
·         Epic Theatre.

Political Themes:

·         BRECHT wanted his audience to be entertained, but detached/critical
·         This aim was for the audience to be rational/learn social lessons
·         He used songs to tell the audience what was gunna happen next
·         In order to disengage their emotions
·         His alienating devices: -Interruptions –No Theatrical Illusions –Not realistic scenery –props

BRECHT and Design:

·         Design is expressionistic
·         Items are ‘more than’, ‘Longer than life’, ‘Inside out’
·         Things can be used in a representative way

YouTube Links:

Memories of Bertolt Brecht: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbD_Frmga2E

Five Truths: Bertolt Brecht: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62-gYcO6jrY

Theatre of Ideas, Practitioners, STANISLAVSKI

Theatre of Ideas:

Practitioners:

STANISLAVSKI:

·         Acting Practitioner
·         Born in Russia 1863 in Moscow
·         Was a n actor but has become a director/teacher
·         Developed a new approach to acting.
·         As an Actor he saw a lot of bad acting
·         He termed this as ‘Artificial’
·         Wanted actors to work on characters from the inside
·         Making it a true/real performance

·         The STANISLAVASKI System is an intense character development process:

• Strives to make a performance ‘real'
• Bring an actor’s experiences into the role
• Expand an actor’s imagination

The System:

·         Believed that to make a character true, the character must be approached from the inside.
·         That means drawing on the real inside life of the actor.
·         Drawing on memories
·         The actor also has to create the inside life of the character
·         Back  Story’s/Beliefs/’I am’/’I want’

Given Circumstances:

·         The given circumstances are the character details in the script
·         What has the playwright told us
·         Location of the play
·         Time/Period/what Year is it set
·         People in the play?

Stanislavski and Design:

·         He liked Naturalism on stage
·         Items on stage are ‘no more than’, ‘Life like’, ‘’Outside in’

(To create a set or costume for a Stanislavski style you would need to do a great deal of research, things should be as they would be in real life.)

YouTube Links:

Actors Discuss: Stanislavski Acting Methods: 

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpEGXrDSXo8 

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGLavvUup_Y

A Winter's Tale

A Winter's Tale:

King Leontes of Sicilia begs his childhood friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia, to extend his visit to Sicilia. Polixenes protests that he has been away from his kingdom for nine months, but after Leontes's pregnant wife, Hermione, pleads with him he relents and agrees to stay a little longer. Leontes, meanwhile, has become possessed with jealousy—convinced that Polixenes and Hermione are lovers, he orders his loyal retainer, Camillo, to poison the Bohemian king. Instead, Camillo warns Polixenes of what is afoot, and the two men flee Sicilia immediately.

Furious at their escape, Leontes now publicly accuses his wife of infidelity, and declares that the child she is bearing must be illegitimate. He throws her in prison, over the protests of his nobles, and sends to the Oracle of Delphi for what he is sure will be confirmation of his suspicions. Meanwhile, the queen gives birth to a girl, and her loyal friend Paulina brings the baby to the king, in the hopes that the sight of the child will soften his heart. He only grows angrier, however, and orders Paulina's husband, Lord Antigonus, to take the child and abandon it in some desolate place. While Antigonus is gone, the answer comes from Delphi—Hermione and Polixenes are innocent, and Leontes will have no heir until his lost daughter is found. As this news is revealed, word comes that Leontes's son, Mamillius, has died of a wasting sickness brought on by the accusations against his mother. Hermione, meanwhile, falls in a swoon, and is carried away by Paulina, who subsequently reports the queen's death to her heartbroken and repentant husband.

Antigonus, meanwhile abandons the baby on the Bohemian coast, reporting that Hermione appeared to him in a dream and bade him name the girl Perdita and leave gold and other tokens on her person. Shortly thereafter, Antigonus is killed by a bear, and Perdita is raised by a kindly Shepherd. Sixteen years pass, and the son of Polixenes, Prince Florizel, falls in love with Perdita. His father and Camillo attend a sheepshearing in disguise and watch as Florizel and Perdita are betrothed—then, tearing off the disguise, Polixenes intervenes and orders his son never to see the Shepherd's daughter again. With the aid of Camillo, however, who longs to see his native land again, Florizel and Perdita take ship for Sicilia, after using the clothes of a local rogue, Autolycus, as a disguise. They are joined in their voyage by the Shepherd and his son, a Clown, who are directed there by Autolycus.

In Sicilia, Leontes—still in mourning after all this time—greets the son of his old friend effusively. Florizel pretends to be on a diplomatic mission from his father, but his cover is blown when Polixenes and Camillo, too, arrive in Sicilia. What happens next is told to us by gentlemen of the Sicilian court: the Shepherd tells everyone his story of how Perdita was found, and Leontes realizes that she is his daughter, leading to general rejoicing. The entire company then goes to Paulina's house in the country, where a statue of Hermione has been recently finished. The sight of his wife's form makes Leontes distraught, but then, to everyone's amazement, the statue comes to life—it is Hermione, restored to life. As the play ends, Paulina and Camillo are engaged, and the whole company celebrates the miracle.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The Two Gentlemen of Verona:

Bosom buddies Valentine and Proteus bid a tearful farewell on a street in Verona. Valentine is off to improve himself, venturing out to see the world, while Proteus stays home in Verona, tied by his love for Julia. After Valentine departs, his servant, Speed, enters. Proteus inquires whether or not Speed delivered a letter to Julia, to which Speed replies affirmatively. Julia, meanwhile, asks her maid, Lucetta, with which man she should fall in love, and Lucetta recommends Proteus. Lucetta admits that she has a letter for Julia from Proteus. After much bickering, Julia tears up the letter, only to regret this act an instant later. 

Antonio decides to send Proteus, his son, to the Duke's court in Milan, a decision with which neither Proteus nor Julia is particularly happy. They exchange rings and promises to keep loving each other. Meanwhile, Valentine has fallen in love with the Duke's feisty daughter, Silvia. When Proteus arrives at court, he too falls in love with Silvia, and vows to do anything he can to win her away from Valentine. When Valentine confesses that he and Silvia plan to elope, Proteus notifies the Duke of their plans, gaining favor for himself and effecting Valentine's banishment from court. Back in Verona, Julia has hatched a plan to disguise herself as a man so that she can journey to Milan to be reunited with Proteus. Upon arriving at court, she witnesses Proteus and Thurio wooing Silvia.

The banished Valentine, while traveling to Mantua, is apprehended by a group of outlaws. The outlaws, all of whom are banished gentlemen as well, demand Valentine to become their king. Since they threaten to kill him if he refuses, Valentine accepts. Silvia and Julia, who is disguised as the page Sebastian, meet when Julia delivers the ring Proteus had given her to Silvia on behalf of Proteus. Julia does not reveal her identity. Silvia calls on her friend Sir Eglamour to help her escape her father's oppressive will (he wants her to marry Thurio) and to find Valentine. However, while traveling through the forest, she and Eglamour are overtaken by a band of outlaws. Eglamour runs away, leaving Silvia to fend for herself against the outlaws. By this time, the Duke, Proteus, and Thurio, with Sebastian/Julia in tow, have organized a search party for Silvia.

Proteus wrests Silvia away from the outlaws. Valentine watches the interaction unseen. Proteus demands that Silvia give him some sign of her favor for freeing her, but she refuses. He tries to rape her for her resistance, but Valentine jumps out and stops him. Proteus immediately apologizes, and Valentine offers to give him Silvia as a token of their friendship. At this moment, Sebastian faints and his true identity becomes clear. Proteus decides that he really loves Julia better than Silvia, and takes her instead. The Duke realizes that Thurio is a thug and says that Valentine is far nobler and can marry Silvia. Valentine asks for clemency for the outlaws, and suggests that his marriage to Silvia and Proteus' marriage to Julia should take place on the same day.

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night:

In the kingdom of Illyria, a nobleman named Orsino lies around listening to music, pining away for the love of Lady Olivia. He cannot have her because she is in mourning for her dead brother and refuses to entertain any proposals of marriage. Meanwhile, off the coast, a storm has caused a terrible shipwreck. A young, aristocratic-born woman named Viola is swept onto the Illyrian shore. Finding herself alone in a strange land, she assumes that her twin brother, Sebastian, has been drowned in the wreck, and tries to figure out what sort of work she can do. A friendly sea captain tells her about Orsino’s courtship of Olivia, and Viola says that she wishes she could go to work in Olivia’s home. But since Lady Olivia refuses to talk with any strangers, Viola decides that she cannot look for work with her. Instead, she decides to disguise herself as a man, taking on the name of Cesario, and goes to work in the household of Duke Orsino.

Viola (disguised as Cesario) quickly becomes a favorite of Orsino, who makes Cesario his page. Viola finds herself falling in love with Orsino—a difficult love to pursue, as Orsino believes her to be a man. But when Orsino sends Cesario to deliver Orsino’s love messages to the disdainful Olivia, Olivia herself falls for the beautiful young Cesario, believing her to be a man. The love triangle is complete: Viola loves Orsino, Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Cesario—and everyone is miserable.

Meanwhile, we meet the other members of Olivia’s household: her rowdy drunkard of an uncle, Sir Toby; his foolish friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who is trying in his hopeless way to court Olivia; Olivia’s witty and pretty waiting-gentlewoman, Maria; Feste, the clever clown of the house; and Malvolio, the dour, prudish steward of Olivia’s household. When Sir Toby and the others take offense at Malvolio’s constant efforts to spoil their fun, Maria engineers a practical joke to make Malvolio think that Olivia is in love with him. She forges a letter, supposedly from Olivia, addressed to her beloved (whose name is signified by the letters M.O.A.I.), telling him that if he wants to earn her favor, he should dress in yellow stockings and crossed garters, act haughtily, smile constantly, and refuse to explain himself to anyone. Malvolio finds the letter, assumes that it is addressed to him, and, filled with dreams of marrying Olivia and becoming noble himself, happily follows its commands. He behaves so strangely that Olivia comes to think that he is mad.

Meanwhile, Sebastian, who is still alive after all but believes his sister Viola to be dead, arrives in Illyria along with his friend and protector, Antonio. Antonio has cared for Sebastian since the shipwreck and is passionately (and perhaps sexually) attached to the young man—so much so that he follows him to Orsino’s domain, in spite of the fact that he and Orsino are old enemies.

Sir Andrew, observing Olivia’s attraction to Cesario (still Viola in disguise), challenges Cesario to a duel. Sir Toby, who sees the prospective duel as entertaining fun, eggs Sir Andrew on. However, when Sebastian—who looks just like the disguised Viola—appears on the scene, Sir Andrew and Sir Toby end up coming to blows with Sebastian, thinking that he is Cesario. Olivia enters amid the confusion. Encountering Sebastian and thinking that he is Cesario, she asks him to marry her. He is baffled, since he has never seen her before. He sees, however, that she is wealthy and beautiful, and he is therefore more than willing to go along with her. Meanwhile, Antonio has been arrested by Orsino’s officers and now begs Cesario for help, mistaking him for Sebastian. Viola denies knowing Antonio, and Antonio is dragged off, crying out that Sebastian has betrayed him. Suddenly, Viola has newfound hope that her brother may be alive. 

Malvolio’s supposed madness has allowed the gleeful Maria, Toby, and the rest to lock Malvolio into a small, dark room for his treatment, and they torment him at will. Feste dresses up as "Sir Topas," a priest, and pretends to examine Malvolio, declaring him definitely insane in spite of his protests. However, Sir Toby begins to think better of the joke, and they allow Malvolio to send a letter to Olivia, in which he asks to be released. 

Eventually, Viola (still disguised as Cesario) and Orsino make their way to Olivia’s house, where Olivia welcomes Cesario as her new husband, thinking him to be Sebastian, whom she has just married. Orsino is furious, but then Sebastian himself appears on the scene, and all is revealed. The siblings are joyfully reunited, and Orsino realizes that he loves Viola, now that he knows she is a woman, and asks her to marry him. We discover that Sir Toby and Maria have also been married privately. Finally, someone remembers Malvolio and lets him out of the dark room. The trick is revealed in full, and the embittered Malvolio storms off, leaving the happy couples to their celebration.