College students may groan when hearing the name Shakespeare, but after seeing Loyola’s production of “Twelfth Night,” some may think otherwise.

The production, which opens Friday, April 3, truly is, as the flier says, “a delightful delirium of mischief and merriment.”

Set in Illyria (modern-day Albania), the play centers on Viola, a young woman who disguises herself as a man and then falls in love with the duke she serves. Viola is sent to woo Countess Olivia for the duke, but Olivia falls in love with Viola, whom she believes is a man. Hilarity ensues with a dizzying criss-crossing love triangle and subplot where Olivia’s servants make her steward, Malvolio, believe she is in love with him.

The set is designed to look like a small European village, complete with a cobblestone-covered set and a Venetian stucco effect showing the grandeur of the palace.

The costumes are simple, yet effective, with evident class distinction. Some of the characters don masks to show their personalities, like the sneaky servant Fabian, who wears a rat-like mask.

Director Artemis Preeshl decided to tackle “Twelfth Night” after spending a month in Albania.

The actors in the show not only had to take on the sometimes challenging language of Shakespeare but also the Venetian technique of “commedia dell’ arte,” or Italian slapstick comedy. The actors dedicate themselves to this technique throughout the entire production with over-the-top movements, such as a silly trot or pretentious stance, that help to define their characters.

Theater arts junior Colby Lemaster said he found inspiration for his role in images such as a Bektashi statue, which represents an Islamic person that does not follow any of the customs of the religion, and students around campus. His character, Sir Toby Belch, is a rough-around-the-edges womanizer who spends most of his time drunk.

“All in all Toby is a hell raiser, so I could say that over half of the Loyola population that goes to the Boot on a regular nightly basis was also a bit of my inspiration behind Toby,” Lemaster said.

“Twelfth Night” is one of Shakespeare’s most musical plays, and some of the actors even play instruments for the show. The lighthearted and fun music extends not only from the show but into the intermission. Music theory senior Alex Burtzos helped compose the music for the show.

“In the music for the play, I attempted to blend conventions of contemporary Eastern European music with conventions of 16th century art music,” Burtzos said. “I tried not to get too weird.”

John Adams can be reached at [email protected].