WOMEN MAKE FOR A WORTHY 'TWELFTH NIGHT'.

Byline: Julio Martinez Correspondent

`TWELFTH NIGHT,'' Shakespeare's raucous tale of mistaken identities and mismatched lovers, was penned in 1594. Aside from the impressively opulent pseudo-Oriental costuming by Company Rep artistic director Hope Alexander, Company Rep's by-the-book production, staged by Anne McNaughton, is satisfied to take the Bard's text at its worth, eschewing interpretation or point of view.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing. The work is imbued with some of the Bard's more creative plot machinations and is populated with a potentially captivating menagerie of colorful folk. Not everyone in this large ensemble is up to the task, but the production is rewarded by McNaughton's seamless pacing and a few outstanding performances.

For the most part, the cast members handle the Bard's dialogue quite well, never distracting from Shakespeare's complicated comedia-esque plotting. Shipwrecked Viola (played by Maria Kress) takes on the guise as the boy Cesario and finds employment in the service of the noble lord Orsino (Darin Singleton). Orsino pines for the distressed Olivia (Meeghan Holaway), who will have none of him. So the smitten Duke sends Cesario/Viola to press his suit and, naturally, Olivia immediately is smitten with the comely lad. Problem: Viola is irretrievably in love with her boss, Orsino.

In and around all this unrequited love, Olivia's perennially soused Uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Tony Burton) is wreaking havoc of his own, conspiring with Olivia's always-scheming maid Maria (Bobbi Stamm) and servant Fabian (Rebecca Davis) to constantly bamboozle the witless Andrew Aguecheek (Emannuel Todorov).

Along the way, with the assistance of Olivia's wily fool Feste (Khamara Pettus), Toby, Andrew and Fabian completely undermine Olivia's monumentally pompous steward, Malvolio (Philip McKeown). Led by Burton's hilarious outing as Belch, the antics of this irreverent quartet are on the mark, offering much-needed diversion from the lovers' woes.

The principal highlights of the production, however, are supplied by the scenes between Holaway and Kress. Holaway's Olivia is achingly endearing as a noblewoman who is rendered dumbfounded that her heartfelt love is not being returned. Kress is thoroughly winning as her Cesario persona struggles to cope with Olivia's passion while the Viola within her yearns to express her own desires to Orsino. By play's end, these two ladies have exuded such palpable vitality that Singleton's Orsino and Michael Kirby's Sebastian actually appear to be receiving greater prizes than they deserve.

The sets of J. Kent Inasy, sound design of Steve Shaw and original music of Carl Smith do much to enhance the veracity of the proceedings.

TWELFTH NIGHT - Two and one half stars

Where: Company Rep, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 21.

Tickets: $15 to $22.50. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: There are a few standout performances in this otherwise by-the-book presentation of one of the Bard's more transcendent comedies.