Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon is an American pay television network, launched on December 1, 1977 as the first cable channel for children. It is owned by Viacom through its Viacom Media Networks division's Nickelodeon Group unit and is based in New York City, it broadcasts from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays, Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.. It is aimed at children and adolescents aged 2–17; the channel was first tested as Pinwheel on December 1, 1977. Pinwheel was at the time only available on QUBE, the first two-way major market interactive cable television system, owned by Warner Cable. Pinwheel relaunched as Nickelodeon on April 1, 1979, expanded to other cable providers nationwide, it was commercial-free and remained without advertising until 1984. Warner sold Nickelodeon, along with its sister networks MTV and VH1, to Viacom in 1986; as of January 2016, the channel is available to about 92.056 million households in the United States. The channel's name comes from the first five cent movie theaters called nickelodeons.
Its history dates back to December 1, 1977, when Warner Cable Communications launched the first two-way interactive cable system, QUBE, in Columbus, Ohio. Under the name Pinwheel Network, the C-3 cable channel carried Pinwheel daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Nickelodeon launched on April 1, 1979 distributed to Warner Cable systems via satellite on the RCA Satcom-1 transponder. Commercial-free, advertising was introduced in January 1984. Nickelodeon's schedule consists of original series aimed at children, pre-teens and young teenagers, including animated series, to live-action comedy and action series, as well as series aimed at preschoolers, it airs reruns of select original series that have ended their runs, as well as occasional original made-for-TV movies. It aired bi-monthly special editions of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, a newsmagazine series aimed at children that debuted in 1992 as a weekly series which ended in 2015. Nicktoons is the branding for Nickelodeon's original animated television series.
Until 1991, the animated series that aired on Nickelodeon were imported from foreign countries, some original animated specials were featured on the channel up to that point. Original animated series continue to make up a substantial portion of Nickelodeon's lineup, with 6 to 7 hours of these programs airing on the weekday schedule and around nine hours on weekends, including a five-hour weekend morning animation block. Since the late 2000s, after the channel struck a deal with DreamWorks Animation in 2006 to develop the studio's animated films into weekly series, the network has begun to incorporate Nicktoons that use three-dimensional computer animation in addition to those that are produced through traditional or digital ink and paint. Nickelodeon does not air direct-to-video movies on a regular basis; the channel airs feature films produced by the network's Nickelodeon Movies film production division. Although the film division bears the Nickelodeon brand name, the channel does not have access to most of the movies produced by its film unit.
Nickelodeon does have broadcast rights to most feature films based on or that served as the basis for original series produced by it. Nickelodeon advertises hour-long episodes of its original series as movies. Nickelodeon periodically acquires theatrically released feature films for broadcast on the channel including Universal's Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale, several Monster High films, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever, with the Barbie and Monster High films aired under a brokered format in which Mattel purchases the time in order to promote the release of their films on DVD within a few days of the Nickelodeon premiere, an arrangement possible as Nickelodeon does not have to meet the Federal Communications Commission rules which disallow th
Pepe the King Prawn
Pepé the King Prawn is a Muppet character created for Muppets Tonight and performed by Bill Barretta as part of a vaudeville double act with Seymour the Elephant. Pepé is Spanish and speaks with a heavy accent, punctuating his sentences with "Okay?" His character plays on many Latino stereotypes: he has a fiery temper, thinks of himself as a lothario making suggestive remarks. Pepé is a schemer, willing to betray or at least take advantage of his friends: he allied with Ms. Bitterman in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and works with Rizzo to trick Gonzo into building a jacuzzi in Muppets from Space, his conscience wins out and makes him do what's right in the end. Pepé has become one of the most popular Muppet characters, providing comedic relief in major supporting roles similar to Rizzo the Rat and appearing in most major Muppet productions since his introduction. He, Big Mean Carl, Bobo the Bear are the only Muppet characters created for Muppets Tonight that are still prominent in The Muppets franchise.
Pepé appeared in fourteen episodes of Muppets Tonight, proved a hit with audiences and has returned many times since. He has major roles in Muppets from Space, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, he appears in 2011's The Muppets, though in keeping with that film's focus on the original Muppet Show cast, he has only a brief cameo role as Miss Piggy's dance partner. He appears in the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted. Though he has more screen time than in The Muppets, his dialogue is limited, his most prominent scene in the film features him gambling on the tour train with hip-hop mogul Sean Combs. He is a regular on The Muppets as a comedy writer for the show-within-a-show, Up Late with Miss Piggy with Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat; as well as frequent appearances in commercials, Muppet short films and videogames, Pepe was as an occasional correspondent on Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony, hosts "Pepe's Profiles" featurettes produced by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for the Kermit's 50th Anniversary DVD re-releases of early Muppet movies.
In 2002, he was the "spokesprawn" for restaurant chain Long John Silver's. He has made many television appearances on shows including America's Funniest Home Videos, The Jay Leno Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Dancing with the Stars, he was an award presenter at The Game Awards 2018 ceremony, which honored the best video games of that year. The parody self-help book It's Hard Out Here for a Shrimp is attributed to Pepé and tells his life story. Bill Barretta has remained Pepé's performer since his 1996 debut on Muppets Tonight. However, Drew Massey performed Pepé in a test pilot for the web series Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony. Pepe the King Prawn on Muppet Wiki
The Muppets
The Muppets are an ensemble cast of puppet characters known for their absurdist and self-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim and Jane Henson in 1955, they are the namesake for the Disney media franchise that encompasses television, music and other media associated with the characters; the Muppets originated in the short-form television series Sam and Friends, which aired from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on Sesame Street in 1969; the Muppets attained celebrity status and international recognition through The Muppet Show, which garnered four Primetime Emmy Award wins and twenty-one nominations during its five-year run. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Muppets diversified into theatrical feature films, including The Muppet Movie; the Walt Disney Company began involvement with the Muppets in the late 1980s, during which Henson entered negotiations to sell The Jim Henson Company.
The Muppets continued their media presence in the 1990s with television series The Jim Henson Hour and Muppets Tonight, both of which were similar in format to The Muppet Show, three films: The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets from Space. Disney acquired the Muppets in February 2004, allowing the characters to gain broader public exposure than in previous years. Under Disney, subsequent projects included two films: The Muppets Most Wanted. Throughout their six-decade career, the Muppets have been regarded as a staple of the entertainment industry and popular culture in the United States, receiving recognition from various cultural institutions and organizations, including the American Film Institute, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Library of Congress, the Hollywood Walk of Fame; the Muppets were created by puppeteer Jim Henson in the 1950s. Conceived for an adult audience, Henson claimed, recanted, that he coined the term "Muppet" as a portmanteau of the words "marionette" and "puppet".
In 1955, the Muppets were introduced in Sam and Friends, a short-form television series produced for WRC-TV in Washington D. C. Developed by Henson and his future wife Jane Nebel, the series was the first form of puppet media not to incorporate a physical proscenium arch typical of such works, relying instead on the natural framing of the television set through which it was viewed. During the 1960s, the characters—in particular and Rowlf the Dog—appeared in skits on several late-night talk shows and on television commercials, including The Ed Sullivan Show. Rowlf became the first Muppet character to appear on network television when he began appearing with Jimmy Dean on The Jimmy Dean Show. In 1966, Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett began developing a children's educational television program and approached Henson to design a cast of Muppet characters during this stage. Produced by the Children's Television Workshop, the program debuted as Sesame Street in 1969. Henson and his creative team became involved with Sesame Street during the years that followed.
Sesame Street garnered a positive response, the Muppets' involvement in the series was touted to be a vital component of its increasing popularity, providing an "effective and pleasurable viewing" method of presentation for its educational curriculum. In the early 1970s, the Muppets continued their presence in television appearing in The Land of Gorch segments during the first season of Saturday Night Live; as his involvement with Sesame Street continued, Henson mused about the possibility of creating a network television series featuring the Muppets. Two pilot specials, The Muppets Valentine Show and The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, aired on ABC in 1974 and 1975, respectively. After ABC passed on the pilots and no other major American network expressed interest in backing the project, British producer Lew Grade approached Henson and agreed to co-produce the series for Associated Television. Debuting in 1976, The Muppet Show introduced new characters such as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Animal alongside existing characters such as Kermit and Rowlf.
Aired in first-run syndication in the United States, The Muppet Show became popular due to its sketch-variety format, unique form of humor, prolific roster of guest stars. The series received twenty-one Primetime Emmy Award nominations during its run and won four, including Outstanding Variety Series in 1978; the success of The Muppet Show allowed Henson Associates to diversify into theatrical films centered on the Muppets, the first of which, The Muppet Movie, was released in 1979. Following The Muppet Movie were The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan, released in 1981 and 1984, respectively. Collectively, the three films received four Academy Award nominations. In 1983, Henson debuted Fraggle Rock, which aired on HBO in the United States until 1987. In the late 1980s, Henson entered discussions with Michael Eisner and The Walt Disney Company, in which the latter would acquire Jim Henson Productions and, in turn, the Muppets. Disney expressed interest in purchasing the company for $150 million.
In addition, Eisner expressed a desire to include the Sesam
David Rudman
David Rudman is an American puppeteer, puppet builder, writer and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and Sesame Street. David Rudman has been a Sesame Street muppet performer since 1985—currently performing Cookie Monster, Baby Bear and The Two-Headed Monster, he has received four Emmy nominations as Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his work on Sesame Street. Rudman has directed several web videos for Sesame Street such as “Cookie Monster Auditions for Saturday Night Live” and “Conversations with Bert.” He has performed in numerous television shows and specials including Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Muppets, where he performed Scooter and Janice. His film credits include The Muppets Take Manhattan, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, A Muppet Christmas Carol, Elmo in Grouchland, The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted. Following the departure of Steve Whitmire in 2017, he became Beaker's new performer.
In addition to his work on Sesame Street and with the Muppets, Rudman is co-owner of Spiffy Pictures where he co-created, executive produced and performed in Jack's Big Music Show, Curious Buddies and Stoty, Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map and Frank and is the creator, executive producer, character designer and voice director of the animated series Nature Cat on PBS, voicing several characters including Leo the Mammoth, Prospector Jones and the Seeker. Rudman attended Highland Park High School and graduated in 1981, he has been a speaker at the school's biennial Focus on the Arts program since 2003. He attended college at the University of Connecticut. Rudman was the speaker at the 2005 graduation ceremony for the Illinois Institute of Art—Chicago. I Love Liberty The Muppets Take Manhattan - Additional Muppets Little Muppet Monsters: Boo Monster Labyrinth: Goblins Sesame Street: Baby Bear, Cookie Monster, Two-Headed Monster, Additional Muppets The Tale of the Bunny Picnic: Snort, The Snail, Additional Muppets A Muppet Family Christmas: Miss Piggy's Photographer, Additional Muppets Jim Henson's Play-Along Video - Danny the Dino Doc, Farmer Lear, Additional Muppets Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting - Additional Muppets The Cosby Show: Sweetums, Boo Monster The Jim Henson Hour: The Song of the Cloud Forest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Donatello Muppet*Vision 3D: Roy and Max The Muppets at Walt Disney World - Frog, Additional Muppets Muppet Sing-Alongs: Billy Bunny's Animal Songs: Percival Bear, Termite, Waiter Penguin, Frog Sesame Street Home Video: Visits the Firehouse: Mr. Monster The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson - Penguin, Additional Muppets Dinosaurs The Muppet Christmas Carol: Old Joe, Peter Cratchit, The Swedish Chef, Wander McMooch, Beggar Dog City: Bowser, Colonel Claghound, Additional Muppets CityKids: Frankie Frank, Additional Muppets, Muppet Coordinator Muppet Meeting Films: Big Head, Jones, Additional Muppets Sesame Street: A New Baby in the House: Courtier Sesame Street Stays Up Late: Baby Bear Muppet Time: Milton Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree: Ned Mouse Muppets Sing-Alongs: It's Not Easy Being Green Muppets Tonight: Sesame Street: Elmocize: one of the Twister Sisters Aliens in the Family: Bobut Elmo Saves Christmas: Baby Bear and Humphrey Elmopalooza: Sparky, Baby Bear and Two Headed Monster The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland: Baby Bear, Alarm Clock Bird, Pestie, Collander Stenchman Grouch Ice Cream Customer, various Grouches Play with Me Sesame Cookie Monster and Chicago the Lion Elmo's World: Happy Holidays: Orange Gold Caroler, Cookie Monster and Baby Bear Sesame Street: The Street We Live On Cookie Monster, Baby Bear and Two Headed Monster Sesame Street: A Magical Halloween Adventure: Pumpkin, Surprise Monster Sesame Street: Happy Healthy Monsters Cookie Monster Jack's Big Music Show: Jack Pinky Dinky Doo: Various Voices Elmo's Christmas Countdown Cookie Monster and Baby Bear Studio DC: Almost Live Abby in Wonderland Cookie Monster A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa: Scooter and Luncheon Counter Monster The Muppets: Scooter and Food in We Built This City montage Lady Gaga and the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular - Scooter, Additional Muppets Muppets Most Wanted: Scooter, Gulag Rat, Thingy-Thing The Furchester Hotel: Cookie Monster, Sorbet Monster, Arthur, Mr. Smellsalot The Muppets: Scooter, Janice The Muppets Take the Bowl: Scooter, Beaker David Rudman on IMDb Spiffy Pictures
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Manhattan; the awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, an award is given for regional theatre. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, the Isabelle Stevenson Award; the awards are named after co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document "Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards", which applies for that season only; the Tony Awards are considered the highest U. S. theatre honor, the New York theatre industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards for film, the Emmy Awards for television, the Grammy Awards for music. It forms the fourth spoke in the EGOT, that is, someone who has won all four awards.
The Tony Awards are considered the equivalent of the Laurence Olivier Awards in the United Kingdom and the Molière Awards in France. From 1997 to 2010, the Tony Awards ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in June and broadcast live on CBS television, except in 1999, when it was held at the Gershwin Theatre. In 2011 and 2012, the ceremony was held at the Beacon Theatre. From 2013 to 2015, the 67th, 68th, 69th ceremonies returned to Radio City Music Hall; the 70th Tony Awards was held on June 2016 at the Beacon Theatre. The 71st Tony Awards and 72nd Tony Awards were held at Radio City Music Hall in 2017 and 2018, respectively; as of 2014, there are 26 categories of awards, plus several special awards. Starting with 11 awards in 1947, the names and number of categories have changed over the years; some examples: the category Best Book of a Musical was called "Best Author". The category of Best Costume Design was one of the original awards. For two years, in 1960 and 1961, this category was split into Best Costume Designer and Best Costume Designer.
It went to a single category, but in 2005 it was divided again. For the category of Best Director of a Play, a single category was for directors of plays and musicals prior to 1960. A newly established non-competitive award, The Isabelle Stevenson Award, was given for the first time at the awards ceremony in 2009; the award is for an individual who has made a "substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations". The category of Best Special Theatrical Event was retired as of the 2009–2010 season; the categories of Best Sound Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Musical were retired as of the 2014–2015 season. On April 24, 2017, the Tony Awards administration committee announced that the Sound Design Award would be reintroduced for the 2017–2018 season; the award was founded in 1947 by a committee of the American Theatre Wing headed by Brock Pemberton. The award is named after Antoinette Perry, nicknamed Tony, an actress, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, who died in 1946.
As her official biography at the Tony Awards website states, "At Jacob Wilk's suggestion, proposed an award in her honor for distinguished stage acting and technical achievement. At the initial event in 1947, as he handed out an award, he called it a Tony; the name stuck."The first awards ceremony was held on April 6, 1947, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. The first prizes were "a scroll, cigarette lighter and articles of jewelry such as 14-carat gold compacts and bracelets for the women, money clips for the men", it was not until the third awards ceremony in 1949 that the first Tony medallion was given to award winners. Awarded by a panel of 868 voters from various areas of the entertainment industry and press. Since 1967, the award ceremony has been broadcast on U. S. national television and includes songs from the nominated musicals, has included video clips of, or presentations about, nominated plays. The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League jointly administer the awards.
Audience size for the telecast is well below that of the Academy Awards shows, but the program reaches an affluent audience, prized by advertisers. According to a June 2003 article in The New York Times: "What the Tony broadcast does have, say CBS officials, is an all-important demographic: rich and smart. Jack Sussman, CBS's senior vice president in charge of specials, said the Tony show sold all its advertising slots shortly after CBS announced it would present the three hours.'It draws upscale premium viewers who are attractive to upscale premium advertisers,' Mr. Sussman said..." The viewership has declined from the early years of its broadcast history but has settled into between six and eight million viewers for most of the decade of the 2000s. In contrast, the 2009 Oscar telecast had 36.3 million viewers. The Tony Award medallion was designed by art director Herman Rosse and is a mix of brass and a little bronze, with a nickel plating on the outside; the face of the medallion portrays an adaptation of the tragedy masks.
The reverse side had a relief profile of Antoinette Perry. The medallion has been mounted on a black base since 1967. A larger base was introduced in time for the 2010 award ceremony; the n
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performance is known as a puppet play; the puppeteer uses movements of her hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move the body, limbs, in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet. The puppeteer speaks in the voice of the character of the puppet, synchronizes the movements of the puppet's mouth with this spoken part; the actions and spoken parts acted out by the puppets are used in storytelling. There are many different varieties of puppets, they are made of a wide range of materials, depending on their form and intended use, they can be complex or simple in their construction. The simplest puppets are finger puppets, which are tiny puppets that fit onto a single finger, sock puppets, which are formed from a sock and operated by inserting one's hand inside the sock, with the opening and closing of the hand simulating the movement of the puppet's "mouth".
A hand puppet is controlled by one hand which occupies the interior of the puppet and moves the puppet around. A "live-hand puppet" is similar to a hand puppet but is larger and requires two puppeteers for each puppet. Marionettes are suspended and controlled by a number of strings, plus sometimes a central rod attached to a control bar held from above by the puppeteer. Puppetry is a ancient form of theatre, first recorded in the 5th century BC in Ancient Greece; some forms of puppetry may have originated as long ago as 3000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms, but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects to tell a story. Puppetry occurs in all human societies where puppets are used for the purpose of entertainment through performance, as sacred objects in rituals, as symbolic effigies in celebrations such as carnivals, as a catalyst for social and psychological change in transformative arts. Puppetry is a ancient art form, thought to have originated about 4000 years ago.
Puppets have been used since the earliest times to animate and communicate the ideas and needs of human societies. Some historians claim. There is evidence that they were used in Egypt as early as 2000 BCE when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread. Wire controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have been found in Egyptian tombs. Hieroglyphs describe "walking statues" being used in ancient Egyptian religious dramas. Puppetry was practiced in ancient Greece and the oldest written records of puppetry can be found in the works of Herodotus and Xenophon, dating from the 5th century BCE. Sub-Saharan Africa may have inherited some of the puppet traditions of ancient Egypt. Secret societies in many African ethnic groups still use puppets in ritual dramas as well as in their healing and hunting ceremonies. Today, puppetry continues as a popular form within a ceremonial context, as part of a wide range of folk forms including dance and masked performance.
In the 2010s throughout rural Africa, puppetry still performs the function of transmitting cultural values and ideas that in large African cities is undertaken by formal education, books and television. There is slight evidence for puppetry in the Indus Valley Civilization. Archaeologists have unearthed one terracotta doll with a detachable head capable of manipulation by a string dating to 2500 BC. Another figure is a terracotta monkey which could be manipulated up and down a stick, achieving minimum animation in both cases; the epic Mahabharata, Tamil literature from the Sangam Era, various literary works dating from the late centuries BC to the early centuries AD, including Ashokan edicts, describe puppets. Works like the Natya Shastra and the Kamasutra elaborate on puppetry in some detail; the Javanese Wayang theater was influenced by Indian traditions. Some scholars trace the origin of puppets to India 4000 years ago, where the main character in Sanskrit plays was known as "Sutradhara", "the holder of strings".
Wayang is a strong tradition of puppetry native of Indonesia in Java & Bali. In Java, wayang kulit, an elaborate form of shadow puppetry is popular. Javanese rod puppets are used to tell fables from Javanese history. Another popular puppetry form in Indonesia is Wayang golek. China has a history of puppetry dating back 3000 years in "pi-yung xi", the "theatre of the lantern shadows", or, as it is more known today, Chinese shadow theatre. By the Song Dynasty, puppets played to all social classes including the courts, yet puppeteers, as in Europe, were considered to be from a lower social stratum. In Taiwan, budaixi puppet shows, somewhat similar to the Japanese Bunraku, occur with puppeteers working in the background or underground; some experienced puppeteers can manipulate their puppets to perform various stunts, for example, somersaults in the air. Japan has many forms including the bunraku. Bunraku developed out of Shinto temple rites and became a sophisticated form of puppetry. Chikamatsu Monzaemon, considered by many to be Japan's greatest playwright, gave up writing Kabuki plays and focused on the puppet-only Bunraku plays.
Consisting of one puppeteer, by 1730 three puppeteers were used to operate each puppet in full view of the audience. The puppeteers, who dressed all in black, would become invisible when standing against a black background, while the to
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola falls in love with Duke Orsino. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her thinking; the play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder expected of the occasion, with plot elements drawn from the short story "Of Apollonius and Silla" by Barnabe Rich, based on a story by Matteo Bandello. The first recorded public performance was on 2 February 1602, at Candlemas, the formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar; the play was not published until its inclusion in the 1623 First Folio. Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and she comes ashore with the help of a Captain, she has lost contact with her twin brother, whom she believes to be drowned, with the aid of the Captain, she disguises herself as a young man under the name Cesario, enters the service of Duke Orsino.
Duke Orsino has convinced himself that he is in love with Olivia, mourning the recent deaths of her father and brother. She refuses to see entertainments, be in the company of men, or accept love or marriage proposals from anyone, the Duke included, until seven years have passed. Duke Orsino uses'Cesario' as an intermediary to profess his passionate love before Olivia. Olivia, falls in love with'Cesario', setting her at odds with her professed duty. In the meantime, Viola has fallen in love with the Duke Orsino, creating a love triangle: Viola loves Duke Orsino, Duke Orsino loves Olivia, Olivia loves Viola disguised as Cesario. In the comic subplot, several characters conspire to make Olivia's pompous steward, believe that Olivia has fallen for him; this involves Sir Toby Belch. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew engage themselves in drinking and revelry, thus disturbing the peace of Olivia's household until late into the night, prompting Malvolio to chastise them. Sir Toby famously retorts, "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?".
Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria plan revenge on Malvolio. They convince Malvolio that Olivia is secretly in love with him by planting a love letter, written by Maria in Olivia's handwriting, it asks Malvolio to wear yellow stockings cross-gartered, to be rude to the rest of the servants, to smile in the presence of Olivia. Malvolio reacts in surprised delight, he starts acting out the contents of the letter to show Olivia his positive response. Olivia is shocked by the changes in Malvolio and agreeing that he seems mad, leaves him to be cared for by his tormentors. Pretending that Malvolio is insane, they lock him up in a dark chamber. Feste visits him to mock his insanity, both disguised as himself. Meanwhile, Viola's twin, has been rescued by Antonio, a sea captain who fought against Orsino, yet who accompanies Sebastian to Illyria, despite the danger, because of his affection for Sebastian. Sebastian's appearance adds the confusion of mistaken identities to the comedy. Taking Sebastian for'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, they are secretly married in a church.
When'Cesario' and Sebastian appear in the presence of both Olivia and Orsino, there is more wonder and confusion at their physical similarity. At this point, Viola is reunited with her twin brother; the play ends in a declaration of marriage between Duke Orsino and Viola, it is learned that Sir Toby has married Maria. Malvolio swears revenge on his tormentors and stalks off. Illyria, the exotic setting of Twelfth Night, is important to the play's romantic atmosphere. Illyria was an ancient region of the Western Balkans whose coast covered the coasts of modern-day Slovenia, Croatia and Herzegovina, Albania, it included the city-state of the Republic of Ragusa, proposed as the setting. Illyria may have been suggested by the Roman comedy Menaechmi, the plot of which involves twins who are mistaken for each other. Illyria is referred to as a site of pirates in Shakespeare's earlier play, Henry VI, Part 2; the names of most of the characters are Italian but some of the comic characters have English names.
Oddly, the "Illyrian" lady Olivia has Sir Toby Belch. It has been noted that the play's setting has other English allusions such as Viola's use of "Westward ho!", a typical cry of 16th century London boatmen, Antonio's recommendation to Sebastian of "The Elephant" as where it is best to lodge in Illyria. The play is believed to have drawn extensively on the Italian production Gl'ingannati, collectively written by the Accademia degli Intronati in 1531, it is conjectured that the name of its male lead, was suggested by Virginio Orsini, Duke of Bracciano, an Italian nobleman who visited London in the winter of 1600 to 1601. Another source story, "Of Apollonius and Silla", appeared in Barnabe Riche's collection, Riche his Farewell to Militarie Profession conteining verie pleasaunt discourses fit for a peaceable tyme, which in turn is derived from a story by Matteo Bandello."Twelfth Night" is a reference to the twelfth ni
