Rating: 
Summary: the old texts
Review: Neil Freeman edits the First Folio, showing how much "cleaning up" by most mosern text is unnecessary, and in fact, holds back information from the actor, director, and reader. Modern editors, even respected ones like the Arden, assume that Shakespeare couldn't have possibly meant to vary from the 10 syllable line and try to "correct" his "mistakes." To assume that Shakespeare was wrong and we are right is foolhardy, and Freeman's editions prove it.
Rating:
Summary: Naxos complete recording the best so far
Review: Please notice that G.H.'s in-house review above does not refer to the recording pictured above, nor do any of the reviews so far. What follows refers only to the Naxos set. There are now three complete recordings of <Twelfth Night> available. We have the older and elegantly read version on Harper Audio with Dorothy Tutin as the best Viola of the lot. Acted with a bit more verve though with less poetry is the Arkangel Shakespeare recording with a Scottish Malvolio and a cast of younger sounding actors who are making names for themselves in Great Britain. However I am very impressed with the "Twelfth Night" that is one of the latest additions to the Naxos Classic Drama series. By far, this is the best-produced "Twelfth Night." One actually feels he is hearing an actual stage performance with all of the action but with the loss of none of the poetry. Perhaps the Viola does sound a little maturer than imagination would have her and the Sir Toby Belch a little less belchy sounding than others. None of the Festes sing as marvelously as did Peter Pears on the long deleted Marlowe Society recording (also with Tutin); however, on this Naxos set David Timson stays nicely in tune--and directs the production to boot. And he keeps things moving neatly along, which is saying a lot for Shakespeare recordings. The CD version has the advantage of excellent tracking cues for not only each scene but for key points within the scene. The Harper CDs give a new track only for each new scene and the tapes (of course) are quite useless in that regard. The Arkangel series at present exists only on tapes but they are planning to reissue the entire series on CDs. So this Naxos release is the one of choice so far.
Rating:
Summary: What You Will
Review: The Oxford School Series of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" provides a detailed analysis of his writing. Footnotes are elaborate, yet easy to read. In addition to that, the presence of a few photos of past productions enhance the reader's ability to visualize the play. Sketches of scenes and characters in the Elizabethan style are also present at various pages. Also, to help make the play more active, the music of verses that require melodies are actually written out at the back. Study aids and questionnaires at the end also help out to encourage a better understanding of the text. All in all, this book is a very good study aid, especially for high school students, beginners at reading shakespeare, or even teachers. However, if you're looking for a really in-depth, PhD-type immersion of the text, this is not for you. Its simplistic language and (no kidding) extremely thorough translation of Shakespeare's English to today's modern toungue actually gets in the way for people who do understand it fairly well. "Twelfth Night" is a hilariously well-done play, and its humor does not get lost in this book. I seriously suggest you pick up a copy of this soon if you're mainly involved in studying it. While elaborate essays on the play are not present in this book, at least you could come up with your own after coming to a definite understanding of it.
Rating: 
Summary: A mid-range Shakespearean comedy.
Review: There is very little here to set this play apart from the rest of Shakespeare's comedies, other than, perhaps, the fact that it has more of the usual comedic plot devices than usual. There is the cross-dressing woman who is fallen in love with by another woman, there are the twins separated, there are the usual litany of star-crossed lovers each in love with someone who doesn't requite their love (until, of course, the end; this being a comedy, everything must come out all right in the end.) All told, about the only memorable line from this play is "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them." A perfectly amusing bit of Shakespearean fluff, but there is little to recommend this play that wouldn't likewise recommend almost any of Shakespeare's comedies.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful comedy from the Bard
Review: This is the first and only comedy (so far) that I have read by Shakespeare, and it will certainly not be the last. Twelfth Night is a hilarious comedy, in its situations, characterizations, and dialogue. The mixups between Viola and Sebastian are classic (I can imagine them being acted on stage). Feste, IMO, is the best character because he is supposedly the fool yet is the wisest of all the characters, giving a tinge of irony to this farce. The subplot with Malvolio is amusing and does not detract from the rest of the play. Five stars, read it.
Rating:
Summary: Cross-dressers, Pranks, and Violence-who needs more?
Review: This is, by far, one of my most favorite Shakespeare plays. It's hilarious-probably the funniest I've read. Shakespeare has the nuttiest characters, such as Sir Toby and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who likes to drink and be silly more than anything else. Then there's Maria, the conniving servant, who fools Malvolio (the pompous servant) into thinking Olivia (the rich chick) is in love with him, and, of course, he makes a fool out of himself. On top of all that, there's Viola, a girl pretending to be a guy named Cesario, and Olivia falls in love with her/him. It's a hoot. The whole thing. Until my Shakespeare class, I had never even heard of this book, which is a surprise because it's so much better and so much more captivating than some of his other plays. A must read!!!
Rating:
Summary: Cross-dressers, Pranks, and Violence-who needs more?
Review: This is, by far, one of my most favorite Shakespeare plays. It's hilarious-probably the funniest I've read. Shakespeare has the nuttiest characters, such as Sir Toby and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who likes to drink and be silly more than anything else. Then there's Maria, the conniving servant, who fools Malvolio (the pompous servant) into thinking Olivia (the rich chick) is in love with him, and, of course, he makes a fool out of himself. On top of all that, there's Viola, a girl pretending to be a guy named Cesario, and Olivia falls in love with her/him. It's a hoot. The whole thing. Until my Shakespeare class, I had never even heard of this book, which is a surprise because it's so much better and so much more captivating than some of his other plays. A must read!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great Intro to Shakespeare
Review: This, being the first work of Shakespeare that I have read, already has me hypnotized into his world of unrequitted love and just consquences. Viola proves to be a powerful heroine, in both her dedication to her Duke and her brother. The side plots keep the story entertaining; the oblivious Sir Andrew,Sir Toby and Maria, with thier constant intrigues involving the self absorbed Malvolio, and Feste, always there to tie everything together and make a few extra coin. Definitly a book to be enjoyed by any interested reader
Rating:
Summary: Great Shakespearean Romantic Comedy
Review: Viola is shipwrecked off the coast of Illyria, believing her twin brother Sebastian to have been lost. Disguising herself as a young boy, she takes the name of Cesario and becomes employed by the Duke Orsino. Because of "her" wit and charm, she is sent by the Duke as an emissary to court the Lady Olivia. Orsino is in love with Olivia, but the Lady is smitten with Cesario, while Viola is attracted to the Duke. Meanwhile, Sebastian is not dead but comes ashore in another part of the land and arrives in time to be mistaken for Cesario by Olivia. Sebastian is more than willing to return the Lady's affections, which, of course, makes the Duke very upset with Cesario. There are also a merry band of pranksters involved in the tale, led by Sir Tony Belch, Maria and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, who have taken it upon themselves to play a trick on Malvolio, the pompous and puritanical steward of Lady Olivia. Maria writes a letter purporting to come from the Olivia that leads Malvolio to believe the Lady is in love with him and wishes to be married. To prove his love, Malvolio is given a set of bizarre instructions which he willfully follows, to the amusement of the hidden jokesters. TWELFTH NIGHT, OR, WHAT YOU WILL is probably the most polished comedy to come from the pen of William Shakespeare. Although he has used this mistaken identity ploy in other plays, it works to its best effect in this effort. This is not only his lightest and most musical comedy, it is clearly his most popular. Too bad we do not have the original music composed for this comedic play.
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