The holidays are over, Epiphany come and gone, the Magi on their way home. Time to take in Shakespeare’s eponymous comedy, written for the Elizabethan festival of the season, a sort of mini-Mardi Gras overseen by the Lord of Misrule—no, not W., but a fun, anarchistic leader. The Bard’s popular play involves unlikely plot twists, a shipwreck, mistaken identity, cross-dressing and a sourpuss religious conservative who wants to rain on everybody’s good time. The bad guy is Malvolio and the prankster uncle is Sir Toby Belch. Great names, broad strokes, but also a play within a play and, if you will, a nifty post-Bush satire of power and ambition—tumultuous leaders are just as prevalent today as in 1600.
Fri., Jan. 23, 8 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 24, 8 p.m., 2009
