The Book of ”Twelfth Night, or What You Will”: Musings on Shakespeare’s Most Wonderful Play

Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a lovely, immensely entertaining, and -- when provocatively mounted -- haunting play.

Yet it is too often misused as an occasion for slapstick comedy. Even many of the best productions realize only a fraction of its sublimity.

The Book of "Twelfth Night, or What You Will" Musings on Shakespeare's Most Wonderful (and Erotic) Play explores the play's arresting ambiguities, with an emphasis on the sexual. It's for anyone who loves this rhapsodic play, and especially for the new Twelfth Night, or What You Will audience that has greater expectations of theater companies mounting one of the world's strangest comedies.

About the Author

A 2003 graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Wayne Myers was the features editor for the Oneida Daily Dispatch in upstate New York, where he reviewed theater, opera, films, and art exhibitions from 2003 to 2008. His work has won a handful of first-place awards in the New York State Associated Press Association, Suburban Newspapers of America, and Syracuse Press Club writing contests.

Endorsements

"It is what every book about our greatest writer should be: fun, fascinating, and filled with delights. Myers's analysis is exhaustively researched but effervescently revealed; each trim chapter is a page-turner, compelling the reader to read on. This is a must-have for anyone who loves Shakespeare, but also anyone who doesn't 'get' Shakespeare. After reading Myers's book, you won't be able to get enough."

-- John Christian Plummer, director, 2008 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival production of Twelfth Night, or What You Will

"I wish there were more books like this "

-- Shakespeare Geek Blog