The Wild West meets '12th Night' in the great outdoors

Bring a chair and watch the sky — not because it’s beautiful, but because if you’re outdoors at 7pm on a July evening in the Philly region, chances are there’s a thunderstorm rolling in. Over several years of taking in productions from groups like Shakespeare in Clark Park and Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company, I seem to remember as many performances canceled by lightning or hustled into a nearby building as I do performances staged in actual parks.

But they endure, as Commonwealth Classic presents its 10th anniversary of free theater in Philly’s parks with 12th Night, which opened July 10 in the Free Library’s Shakespeare Park, in honor of The Year of the Bard: Shakespeare's 450th birthday.

BSR was there to check out this audacious Wild West-themed production. In his playbill notes, director Paul Parente says that he set his sights on an Illyria as the late 19th-century California coast, with a look and sound inspired by films like High Noon and Unforgiven.

While they're some of the most valiant efforts you’ll see in Shakespeare around the world, the Center City Philadelphia shows are difficult to hear, even with the help of microphones and speakers. This year, an opening performance on a grassy rectangle directly over the Vine Street Expressway fought bravely with the traffic below — and that’s not counting the pounding stereos on the Parkway, the occasional deafening motorcycle, and helicopters moseying over the library. (After an electrical failure, the show moved into the library for the second half.)

But a full-hearted ensemble of 12 gives it their all and are well worth seeing in any of 12 additional (quieter) performances around the region, including stops in West Chester, Chestnut Hill, Lansdale, and Lansdowne. For the full list of dates and locations (including info in case of rain), click here.

Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company presents Shakespeare’s 12th Night, or What You Will in parks (or nearby buildings, if need be) throughout the greater Philadelphia area, from July 10-26. Audiences should bring their own chairs or blankets, and all performances are free, except for the July 11 Kimberton Park show ($10 for everyone over 12), and a pay-what-you-will donation to Morris Arboretum on July 23. For more information, visit www.commonwealthclassictheatre.org.