House lights dim, stage lights come up and the curtain opens to reveal the cast and set of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” For the well-anticipated, amusing show, the cast was ready to entertain the audience in hopes to keep them on their toes. With weeks of preparation, opening night finally arrived and the cast could show the school what they could do.

“Twelfth Night” begins when Viola (senior Mariah Moore) is shipwrecked and is separated from her twin brother Sebastian (senior Nick Magel), believing he is dead. She then disguises herself as a man to protect herself as she works for the Duke (senior Julian Diaz). A true love triangle begins when Viola, dressed a man, falls for the Duke who is sending love letters to Olivia (junior Lizzy Jensen) who has fallen for Viola. Chaos ensues in the house when everybody is loving someone else.

With “Twelfth Night” being a Shakespearean show, it was hard to determine the turnout of this potentially confusing production. Musicals seem to have a better run because of the charm of the show and overall being more engaging to the audience. With the complex language of the show, the cast worked on the pronunciation and body language to communicate the story better to the audience. The cast also worked together to ensure they could fall back onto each other when needed.

“We have to work better to pick of each other hints here and there when we need help because sometimes as actors we forget lines,” Senior Jackson Daniels said. “If we can help each other when we have those blunders, then we can succeed together as a group.”

With every show, there comes a bumpy road to being successful. Among these obstacles was Michael Gerardi, who played Malvolio, being diagnosed with mono within days of the show. The cast had to adapt but was able to bring in freshman Manny Edrozo to take over his part.

“I was so proud of him. He learned his lines,” Junior Emily Woodward-Shaw said. “He had a book on stage which he wrote into the script like he was taking notes of everything but really it was his lines on the paper. He worked so hard.”

After missing the dress rehearsals and never running the show all the way through once, Gerardi was able to return for the Friday night show to make his debut on the stage.

“I’m really glad I was able to get better for this show,” Gerardi said. “It’s just been a really challenging week but I’ve been really grateful because so many people, all of my cast members and all of my classmates, have been wishing me to get better. It’s good to be back.”

A show with a storyline full of drama and chaos turns for a success after a great run with the cast. So much effort has been put into the show which definitely reflected on the stage. The talent in the show continues to flourish with each production that is put onto the Perry stage.