Shakespeare in the Garden to benefit Arts Council festival
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER

Photo BEVERLY HALL Chuck Gifford, Eric Schultz and Chris Witte in the 1977 TWN production of "Twelfth Night."

In a special reunion tomorrow evening, five island actors will come together to portray the characters of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" that they played 31 years ago in a Theatre Workshop production. The encore performance will be part of Shakespeare in the Garden, a benefit to su pport th e Na ntucket Ar ts Council's fourth annual Shakespeare Festival that opens July 13 and will be free to the public.

The fundraiser will take place in the gardens of photographer Beverly Hall's Madaket home overlooking Hither Creek and will star Chuck Gifford as Sir Toby Belch, Chris Witte as Fabian, Eric Shultz as Andrew Aguecheek, Vicky Goss as Maria and Judith Ferrenbach, now a New York City resident, as Feste. David Lazarus will join the group in the part of Malvolio. The scenes will be directed by Meredith Martin.

Hall, who took pictures of the 1977 Twin Street Barn rehearsals, called those days of local theater "heady times."

PHOTO BEVERLY HALL Chuck Gifford and Eric Schultz in a scene from "Twelfth Night" produced by TWN in 1977.

"What I am hoping is that these scenes bring back some of that playful, heady sprit from the days of the original performance when people came together and had a celebration of being together and out in nature. I've been hatching this for a year. We have most of the original cast," said Hall.

While the benefit do es no t in clude the entire "Twelfth Night" comedic tale of Viola and her twin brother Sebastian who are separated after being stranded on the island of Illyria and the story's ensuing entanglement of love interests, the actors look forward to resuming their highlighted roles.

"I think it's the most tremendous thing. Now that we're not in our 20s we don't have the hours to rehearse that we used to," said Goss, a busy landscaper. "In those days we would usually rehearse for six weeks and then only had a weekend performance. We're putting 20 minutes together, but we're all here. We've all remained friends, so there has been an eternal connection.

"What theater does is create a family," Goss added. "You've got so much time and attention shared on the same creation, so to recreate with the same people is like having a family reunion. There is the history, but you get back together and you're on the same footing as you were then."

Gifford, Director of Community Relations and Development at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Witte, owner of Foreign Affairs auto repair, Schultz, still a major part of island theater, Goss and Ferrenbach, an actress, will all be dressed in appropriate Elizabethan costumes. Attendees are encouraged to also dress for the play's period and a wardrobe has been lent for the occasion by the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket and Clara Urbahn.

Along with the entertainment,those joining in the Shakespeare in the Garden festivities will be treated to tavern-style food and drinks, jugglers, strolling musicians and a silent auction. Auction items include a Great Harbor Yacht Club sunset cruise in Nantucket Harbor for 16 to 18 people, a Segway, pottery by Barbara Toole, a carved pendant by Nancy Chase, gift certificates for island restaurants and Shakespearethemed baskets.

The benefit wi ll be he ld Ju ne 26 fr om 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Hall's home on Tennessee Avenue. Tickets are $100 and may be purchased on-line through info@ nantucketartscouncil.org or by calling 325-8588. Sponsorships to underwrite the event are also available by contacting development@nantucketartscouncil. org or calling 228-7892.

The Shakespeare Festival will run from July 13 through July 20 and will include a Bennett Hall performance of "The Tempest" by the Shakespeare on the Cape company, stagings of "Much Ado About Nothing" by the island's Seaside Shakespeare Company, lectures by Shakespearean scholar Marjorie Garber and children's events. The Nantucket Arts Council was founded in 1973. I