Timothy D. Stickney is thrilled to be portraying the love-sick Duke Orsino in the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production of the Shakespearean comedy, “Twelfth Night.”
“It’s been wonderful being here Duke Orsino is the only obvious person of color in the production. I’m working with some wonderful people but it was a surprise when you come to the table and you’re like ‘oh, it’s only me,’” but at least I’m the Duke in this production and I hold the power and I get to wear a lot of pretty clothes.,” said Stickney who has been performing classical work for 30 years and sees Shakespeare as his third language.
Shakespeare wrote “Twelfth Night” as a brilliant entertainment to end the holiday season for the Elizabethan Court. The action and antics take place in Illyria where Viola (portrayed masterfully by Carly Street) washes ashore after a shipwreck and in order to find gainful employment hides the fact that she is a woman and that she has a twin brother, Sebastian (Max Rosenak).
Pretending to be a boy, Viola serves and falls in love with Orsino who is desperately in love with nobel woman, Olivia (played beautifully by Gretchen Egolf) But Olivia falls in love with the Duke’s boy. To make matters worse, Olivia’s always-drunk uncle Sir Toby Belch (played by the hilariously funny John Ahlin) and his bumbling side-kick, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (portrayed by the funny Daniel Krell).
Along with the mischievous Maria, (Helena Ruoti), Sir Andrew and Sir Toby trick Olivia’s Pompous but loyal Steward, Malvolio (Brent Harris) into ridiculous public displays of affection for Olivia that eventually gets Malvolio sent to prison because everyone thinks he is mad.
Rounding out the cast of “Twelfth Night” are Tony Bingham, Dom Di Giulio and Drew Stone. The production team for the Ted Pappas-directed play is James Noone (scenic), Gabriel Berry (Costumes), Kirk Bookman (Lighting) and Zach Moore (sound).
Stickney’s parents made sure that he and his siblings—most notably renowned actress, comedienne and author, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney who appeared in such hits as “A Different World,” What’s Love Got to Do With it” and “Malcolm X”, were submersed in arts culture.
For five years, Stickney was a company member with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, appearing as Pothinus in “Caesar and Cleopatra” and Sebastian in “The Tempest.” He has led AUDELCO Award-winning and nominated productions of “Othello,” “Hamlet” and his favorite, “Richard III,” while directing gender-bending “Julius Caesar” and “Othello.” He’s appeared in “Blue Bloods,” Madame Secretary,” the “Good Wife” and the upcoming “The Punisher.”
But many people may remember seeing his charismatic face and hearing his phenomenal voice during his 12 years as villain Randall James R.J. Gannon on “One Life to Live” from 1994 to 2006.
“It was wonderful,” says Stickney of his years on the soap. “It was one of those weird gigs. I was working in Louisville at the Humana festival—it’s one of those festivals that’s in the middle-ish of the country so people from both coasts come to see the plays that are being performed. I guess I was seen by ABC on both coasts and I got a call while I was still in Kentucky to come to New York to do an audition for a soap opera. I laughed because I do not have the kind of face that sells toothpaste in America.”
The camera and the soap opera powers that be loved Stickney despite the fact that he knocked over some furniture upon exiting the audition. Stickney went on to win the Soap Opera Award for best Villian in 2000 and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in 2000 and 2001.
“I take being cast as a villain with a grain of salt. I’m thankful that I haven’t had to play many butlers and language-less people. But it saddens me that that is people’s perception of people of color because they only see us how others create us in entertainment,” Stickney said. “To change things, we have to write, we have to produce, we have to fund those types of projects that have actors of color in those roles because we are here, we do exist and we can do the work.”
The show, which runs at the O’Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater’s home in the Cultural District, through February 26, is presented by Highmark. For tickets, call 412-316-1600 or visit www.ppt.org.
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
