Ojai Shakespeare Fest Turns 20 With a ‘Night’ of Celebration

It must be a rite of summer by now, catching the Bard in Libbey Park courtesy of the Ojai Shakespeare Festival--an adventure now running 20 years. In a celebratory spirit, this year’s presentation--playing through this weekend--is “Twelfth Night,” the ever-popular comedy in which aristocrats behave foolishly and fools temporarily rule.

The production, an ideal summertime treat, may be a good vehicle through which to introduce young people to Shakespeare. Blended into the fanciful language and romantic and philosophical asides is bawdy humor and enough scenic variety to evoke a much larger range of issues. Scott Siedman’s resourceful set design depicts a Moroccan-esque desert scene, a ship and Lady Olivia’s home.

Julie Christensen, best known for her singing but whose thespian side is getting more attention lately, is alternately sassy and regal as Olivia. She is the pivot around which much of the play’s mistaken identities, misdirected lusts and merry prankstering revolve. Jaye Hersh, the festival’s artistic director, is, ironically, a pillar of solidity in the double role as Viola masquerading as Cesario. It’s that kind of a narrative puzzle.

Other standouts include Geoff Foley as the conniving Sir Tobey Belch and Richard Winterstein, who put in a memorable performance last year as Falstaff in “Falstaff: The Apprenticeship of Good Prince Hal.” That was directed, like this production, with fetching clarity by John Slade. As Malvolio, the hapless pawn in a cruel game, Winterstein lavishly dons yellow tights and mugs with the proper degree of abandon, suggesting that he’s “mad in his wits.”

(Note: Winterstein’s son Travis, 15, is also in the festival this year, playing Prospero in the festival’s secondary production--which stars interns--of “The Tempest,” tonight at 8 and Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m.)

All the giddy entanglements of “Twelfth Night” achieve resolution by the end, as “the whirligig of time brings his revenges” and the right liaisons are at last made. As usual, the festival makes Shakespeare work outdoors, drawing on a careful mix of polish, passion and can-do fuel.

* “Twelfth Night,” Ojai Shakespeare Festival, Libbey Bowl, Signal Street and Ojai Avenue, Ojai. Friday through Sunday, 8 p.m. Ends Sunday. $8-$15; children 12 and younger, free. (805) 646-9455. www.ojaishakespeare.org.

Road Trip: Officially, the New West Symphony’s season doesn’t begin until October, when pianist Christopher Riley appears as its guest in a French program. But New West die-hards can get an off-season taste of the Ventura County ensemble this Saturday night in Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre, when New West will support Chinese pianist Ying Zhang. On the program is music by Bizet, Chopin and Saint-Saens, in the first live piano concert in this new venue, built to house the Oscars.

* New West Symphony with pianist Ying Zhang, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Kodak Theatre, corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, Hollywood. $47-$102. (323) 308-6363.

Art Pack: Diversity is the meat and the meaning of the annual Merit Award Show at the Buenaventura Gallery. The work of some two dozen artists, juried from their work over the past year, have been gathered into the main gallery.

In the show, the contrasts build into a statement about artistic individuality. John Sidman’s mixed-media masks, “Three Faces,” exudes ritual charm, in contrast to Irene Jablonski’s nice, loosely rendered portraits. Lee Hodges’ collage, “I Am,” leaves its intentions open through a meld of symbols and images, and Carlisle Cooper’s recognizable figurative painting style, with its hyperbolic, radiant gleam, is evident in “Masquerade No. 1.”

Mel Rhoads’ deceptively mild-mannered “Connie Painting” is art about an artist enveloped in natural awe. Lisa Marshall focuses her attention on small, vibrant paintings of dinnerware and critters. And Roland “Ray” Harding twists convention in his own way with “Big Yellow House Gum Balls,” a super-realist graphite drawing, whose warped perspective on the world seen through a spherical glass reflects a sense of healthy, artistic otherness, in a sometimes too-rational world.

* Merit Award Show, Buenaventura Gallery, 700 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura. Hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Ends Aug. 24. (805) 648-1235.