Licensing Company: Concord Theatricals
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night is a rousing contemporary musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy about mistaken identity and self-discovery. On the twelfth day of Christmas, shipwrecked Viola washes up on the shores of Illyria, disguises herself as a man, is sent to court a countess and falls hard for a Duke. As she navigates the gender confusion in all her roles, she finds her true self and true love in the process. Featuring an original jazz-funk score by Shaina Taub, Twelfth Night is a soulful shake-up of a Shakespearean classic, perfect for the 12th night of Christmas or any day of the year.
Twelfth Night
PROGRAMMED INSTRUMENTS
Keyboard 1
Keyboard 2
$300.00
Twelfth Night is a rousing contemporary musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy about mistaken identity and self-discovery. On the twelfth day of Christmas, shipwrecked Viola washes up on the shores of Illyria, disguises herself as a man, is sent to court a countess and falls hard for a Duke. As she navigates the gender confusion in all her roles, she finds her true self and true love in the process. Featuring an original jazz-funk score by Shaina Taub, Twelfth Night is a soulful shake-up of a Shakespearean classic, perfect for the 12th night of Christmas or any day of the year.
PROGRAMMING NOTES
This licensed orchestration is based on the 2018 Public Theater Production in New York City.
This show is much different than most traditional Broadway musicals. In the original production, this show was orchestrated to be “piano-conducted” or led by the actor playing Feste. In the original Public Theater production, Shauna Taub who also composed the music for the show played Feste and played the entire Keyboard 1 book which is primarily piano and electric piano based. Keep in mind that the Keyboard 1 book does not have the lyrics but it does have programming and keyboard patches in the event the MD or a separate player plays K1 although there is a full score available by Concord as well as a Piano/Vocal score. According to the orchestrator’s notes:
Since FESTE is a busking musician, it is dramaturgically important that they play an instrument – even in a reduced capacity. In the original production, FESTE played the entire KEYS 1 track, which calls for keyboard and accordion playing. We prefer that your production do the same, but we recognize this is not always possible. If your FESTE is unable to play the entire KEYS 1 track, we recommend that they play just the accordion parts and that a separate, dedicated musician play the keyboard parts. (Please also be advised that the KEYS 1 and KEYS 2 parts cannot be executed by one person.) If your FESTE is unable to play accordion, we recommend finding another portable instrument with which they can execute the accordion parts. If your FESTE is playing something other than accordion, it is acceptable for the dedicated KEYS 1 musician to also play accordion underneath whatever instrument your FESTE is playing.
As mentioned, there is also a separate Keyboard 2 book that is primarily B3 Hammond Organ. In the original production, they used an actual B3. The K2 part has lots of slash/improv notation and the K2 player must be very comfortable playing chords and improvising over and under the other musicians. This part also has the Key 1 part “cued” in spots but unlike cued notes in other parts where they are small and out of the way, many times the K1 part is full sized and it can be hard to tell what is a cue and what is played. Keep in mind that the actual notes don’t always matter and as a groove show, play what feels and sounds right. It’s OK, that’s how this show was orchestrated and is rarely played the same way twice. In addition to various B3 organs, other patches include piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clav, celeste, harpsichord, accordion, mellotron, and even a synthy saw wave for “What Kinda Man”. Although sparse in notation, this part requires an excellent groove player and someone who can play “around” the written notation.
ORIGINAL MUSIC TEAM
Conceived by: Kwame Kwei-Armah & Shaina Taub
Music & Lyrics by: Shaina Taub
Orchestrations by: Mike Brun
Music Director: Shaina Taub
2018 PUBLIC THEATRE BAND
Bandleader/Guitar: Mike Brun
Bandleader/Keys: Shaina Taub
Keyboard 2: David Ferrell Melton
Tenor Sax: Ron Blake
Trombone: Jeffery Miller
Trumpet: David Neves
Bass: Mary Ann McSweeney
Drums: Hiroyuki Matsuura
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Named one of the best theatrical productions of 2018 by Time, The Hollywood Reporter and The Washington Post, Twelfth Night is a rousing contemporary musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy about mistaken identity and self-discovery.
Twelfth Night tells the story of Viola, a young heroine who washes up on the shores of Illyria, disguises herself as a man, is sent to court a countess and falls hard for a Duke. As she navigates this strange and wonderful new land, she finds her true self and true love in the process. Twelfth Night features an original jazz-funk score by Shaina Taub and has a running time of only 90 minutes.