The 1899 Production
1925 was not the first time the Players put on Twelfth Night. They had produced it once before, during the winter of 1899. According to an announcement in the Dartmouth, the 1899 production was the first time in many years that an amateur student group had attempted to perform Shakespeare at the College, and the Bard’s works were considered very difficult for undergraduates to pull off successfully. Worse still, the Players were performing not in a traditional theatrical venue, but in the gymnasium.
Nevertheless, their winter 1899 performance of Twelfth Night was a hit, receiving glowing praise from students and making the cast into minor stars on campus.
The Dartmouth announces the 1899 production
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.
Another announcement of the 1899 production
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.
Program for 1899 production of Twelfth Night
Men played all the roles in the 1899 production of Twelfth Night.
Valentine and Andrew Aguecheek
E. B. Watson, class of 1902, as Valentine and D. B. Rich, class of 1900, as Andrew Aguecheek, two comedic side characters.
Maria and Malvolio
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.
