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Twelfth Night was included alongside traditional Commencement exercises and performances by other student arts groups.
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The tour was so successful that the Players were invited to reprise their performance as part of the official proceedings of Commencement 1899.
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Similar to The Dartmouth's original review, newspapers from around New Hampshire praised Twelfth Night in glowing terms. James Barney's portrayal of Viola received "perhaps the most praise" out of the entire cast. The Somersworth Free Press even called him the "belle of the ball."
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The proceeds from the Somersworth performance of Twelfth Night benefited the local high school.
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In late February and early March of 1899, the Players took their production of Twelfth Night on tour, performing in Somersworth, Rochester, and Concord, N.H.
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Twelfth Night was a smash hit, even managing to overcome the fact that it was performed in the gymnasium. James L. Barney, class of 1899, merited "particular mention" for his role as Viola. According to The D, he "made a charming girl."
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R. F. Leavens, class of 1901, as Sir Toby Belch, another comedic side character.
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L. Z. Murray, class of 1900, as Maria, a sarcastic maid, and J. W. Gannon, class of 1899, as Malvolio, the closest thing Twelfth Night has to a villain.
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E. B. Watson, class of 1902, as Valentine and D. B. Rich, class of 1900, as Andrew Aguecheek, two comedic side characters.
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Men played all the roles in the 1899 production of Twelfth Night.
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The Dartmouth's columnist hopes that the Players' performance will put Dartmouth on an equal footing with Yale's and Harvard's annual Shakespeare plays.
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Shakespeare is a fixture of current student theater at Dartmouth, but in 1899, his plays had never been performed by Dartmouth undergraduates. The text was considered "difficult" for amateurs like the Players to pull off.
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The Dartmouth praised the comedic scenes in the play but damned the romantic scenes with faint praise: they were saved from "utter ridiculousness" by the actors' "restraint."
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Without a full cast photo, it is difficult to tell who is who in the closing tableau of the show, but it is most likely that one of the couples onstage is Olivia and Sebastian (Chet Wilson, class of 1925, and Herman Trefethen, class of 1926) and the other is Orsino and Viola (Roy Flannery, class of 1927, and Harold Trefethen, class of 1926). The character in the center is probably the Fool (Gordon Graham, class of 1928).
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The stage and set used in the 1925 production are a fairly minimalist take on the garden of Olivia, one of the two lead female characters.
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Twelfth Night was the last show the Dartmouth Players put on before the end of female impersonation at Dartmouth. As such, all of the roles were played by male actors.
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The 1925 production of Twelfth Night ran from April 30 to May 2. An article in The Dartmouth on April 30 announced the upcoming show.
