Two of Whitewater High School’s former students, Ella Smith (above) and Haley Street, are appearing in the fall musical at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The production is the modern musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
Ella Smith, after completing a year of training at Manhattan School of Music in New York and a year of international travel, is now a freshman at UW-Madison. Ella plays the part of Feste with enthusiastic singing, guitar playing, acting, and dancing to her credit.
Haley Street, another enthusiastic member of the ensemble, is a sophomore at UW-Madison majoring in Vocal Performance with a certificate in Theatre. This is her first production at UW-Madison. Haley has several singing performances in Twelfth Night in addition to acting and dancing throughout the musical.
The musical was declared a success this past weekend and will delight audiences once again this coming weekend: Thursday, Nov. 16 @ 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18 @ 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at the UW-Madison’s “Campus Arts Ticketing” site. Admission is $26 for adults, $21 for seniors, $9 for college students and children K-12. CONTENT ADVISORY: This play contains mature content and depictions of physical violence.
Quotes from the musical’s program describe the vibe: “‘Twelfth Night is a rousing contemporary musical inspired by Shakespeare’s classic comedy. The musical features an original jazz-funk score. Expect pure joy and lots of laughs with a deeper message of empathy and compassion.”
Twelfth Night is a rousing contemporary musical inspired by Shakespeare’s classic comedy about love, mistaken identity, and self-discovery. Separated from all she knows after a wreck at seas, young Viola washes up on the shores of Illyria, and disguises herself as a man in order to survive. Sent to court a Countess on behalf of her new employer, she instead falls hard for him herself! Hilarious mishaps ensue as she navigates this strange and wonderful new land, finding her true self and true love in the process. Featuring an original jazz-funk score by Shaina Taub, this fresh take on Shakespeare’s classic delivers its meaningful messages of empathy and compassion with music, joy, and lots of laughs.
