Heather Heidman, as Viola, takes on Alex Ates, as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, in "Twelfth Night" at Tulane's Lupin Theatre, part of the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane.

Shakespeare's last romantic comedy, "Twelfth Night," or "What You Will," spins twin plots of mistaken identity, one involving twins and mismatched partners, the other trickery and mischief. The comedic characters steal center stage from the lovers, chiefly because the Bard has such fun with them.

The title has nothing to do with the beginning of Carnival, although there are masquerades aplenty and a modest celebration at the end. The play was probably written for Twelfth Night holiday festivities; a lively spirit of misrule prevails.

A condensed version of "Twelfth Night" is providing the teenage members of the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane's All Things Shakespeare program the opportunity to strut their stuff. The young company, under the direction of Clare Moncrief and assistant director Billy Slaughter, acquits itself nicely as a whole and there are individual performances of considerable appeal and merit.

Chief among these is the drunken, devilish Sir Toby Belch of Brendan Bowen, whose remarkable middle-aged characterization and bibulous antics never prevent him from delivering his dialogue -- and the intent behind it -- with absolute clarity. The target of his knavery is the Lady Olivia's pompous steward Malvolio, played with great, sneering hauteur by Josef Stengl, who becomes first a preening figure of fun and then a gibbering, strait-jacketed loony bin resident as a result of Sir Toby and friends' flim-flammery.

Alex Ates' Sir Andrew Aguecheek has the shaky "ague" his name implies, along with a fey foppishness and quivering cowardice. Coupled with a brilliantined hairstyle reminiscent of Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer of the "Our Gang" comedies, Ates is a delight.

In a class by himself is the clown Feste, who in the eccentric person of Patrick Bowen, gives a totally original performance, a wistful man-child who sings with melancholy sweetness as he winds his way through the play with a sense of bemused wonder.

Patrick Bowen, as Feste, the Clown, in "Twelfth Night" at Tulane's Lupin Theatre.

The shipwreck-separated twins Viola and Sebastian are played by Heather Heidman and Ben Carbo, who share a wide-eyed, gazelle-like aspect. The fact that he's a foot taller than she and they could never be mistaken for each other, as the plot requires, even with Viola in masculine disguise, doesn't much matter when the actors are this engaging. Heidman is beautiful, graceful and well-spoken, Carbo the most natural of leading men, both completely at ease onstage.

Also of note: Katie Baus as Maria, Sir Toby's co-conspirator; Jamie Flanagan as the aristocratic, posturing Duke Orsino and Tori Gural's flighty, blonde, understandably confused Olivia, who has fallen for Viola's male persona, but is bedded by her brother.

In Tracy Irish's "adaptation," the play is narrated by two Cockney coquettes, the funny but often text-flummoxed Isabel Balee and Elizabeth Johnson. Completing the cast are Ellie Gardner as Antonia/Valentine and Abbie Levenson's Curio/Fabian.

Bill Blowers' reworking of the "As You Like It" set boasts a well-used double flight of stairs and Brooke Aiello has done a fine job coordinating the Edwardian costumes. There is a smattering of Beatles tunes, which sometimes comment on the action, sometimes not.

"Twelfth Night" has just three more performances: tonight (July 25) at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday (July 26) at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Tulane's Lupin Theatre. Tickets are $12.50. Call 504.865-5105, Ext. 2.