Mixed sex comedy mixed bag of theatre

“Twelfth Night,” the Shakespeare Northwest companion comedy with “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” at Blackrock Amphitheater does not maintain the sparkle of its sister “Night.” Still, see both, to watch almost half of the cast in repertoire.

Director Bjorn Whitney sought to turn the original Shakespearean casting on its head: While the Shakespearean stage employed all male actors, this has primarily a female cast. Whitney does not make clear to the audience in his director’s statement, or on stage, the androgynous, gender bending mistaken identity of teen twins Viola and Sebastian, whose ship went...