Whether it’s the fluttering emotions of new love, the deviousness of an antagonist’s plot, or the frustration of budding sexuality, words tell one kind of story, but music opens a window into the inner turmoil of the characters. By putting Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night, Or What You Will’ to music for Palisades High’s current production, director Lisa Kraus has rekindled enthusiasm for this early 17th century story, injecting fresh delight in the text supplemented by the joyous exuberance of these young actors. Kraus decided to place the action in the disco-crazed 1970s, where the set matches the cool of 007’white fir-covered chaise longue and swivel lamps’and the costumes rival ‘Saturday Night Fever.’ Old stories are often kept alive by stage directors purposefully changing a play’s time and place in hopes of discovering something new and original in the story.   The players in this tale of frustrated loves, confused identities and delicious tomfoolery speak the words, but reveal their emotions by dancing to such standards as Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain,’ ’10 CC’s ‘I’m Not In Love’ and, of course, Van McCoy’s ‘Do The Hustle.’ There is some real talent here, especially with the strong solos by Lauren Hansen, who plays the clown Feste. Her a cappella rendition of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Lady of the Canyon,’ and Donovan’s ‘Sunshine Superman’ are luminous. Seventies fever spreads by way of disco revival, which this reviewer enjoyed as much as the swiveling, kicking kids on stage in their platform boots. ‘Twelfth Night’ is full of rich, memorable characters: the absurd sentimentalism of the duke Orsino is played by Alex Caan, who sustains the tricky balance between being dignified and downright silly. Chloe Wilson, who displays the youthful freshness of Viola, takes up her service to her master Orsino by wooing the flinty-hearted Olivia (Mia Canter), all the while suffering mightily to conceal her love for him. Minor characters in the service of this confounded love triangle are as delightful as can be. The very talented Julian Schwartzman, who not only delivers some of the funniest wit of the evening, also possesses a strong voice and seamless technique. He really brings Sir Toby Belch to the highest shine. His partners-in-crime, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Marial Redlin) and Maria (Elena Loper), can’t help but enjoy a rib-aching good time. Mistaken identity reigns freely in this production: Viola disguises herself as her brother, whom she fears has been lost at sea. It’s a familiar theme for Shakespeare, who also used the plot device in ‘The Comedy of Errors.’ The results are hilarious, particularly clever in this production as the costume team, headed by Lorin Doctor, has matched the pairs in color and pattern. With PaliHi’s recently upgraded lighting system, the action can move upstage, stage right and left, successfully, which helps to advance the narrative without a set change. Again, the set design, under committee head Mary Hobbs, is brilliant in its minimal effect. The white palette, anchored by the trio of spiral white cylindrical columns, dish chair, chaise longue and table with a vase of red flowers, is sophisticated and sharp.    ‘Twelfth Night’ is a comedy full of rich language, confused identities, and the ultimate triumph of love. The play continues Thursday through Saturday, December 11-13, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, December 14 at 2 p.m. in Mercer Hall, Palisades High School, 15777 Bowdoin. Tickets: $10 at the door.

Beautiful Images Taken by Shutterbugs in the Community

At the Palisadian-Post, we take pride in the excellent imagery provided by our staff photographer, Rich Schmitt. But even the ubiquitous Schmitt cannot be at all places when something happens in Pacific Palisades. Fortunately, in the course of the week, we receive pictures from amateur photographers around the community that often help us illustrate the issue. Other times, we just don’t have room for these submissions. So here’s a parallax view of Pacific Palisades, courtesy of these photographers: some unpublished images that caught our eye this fall, along with a photo from our own shutterbug Schmitt.

Vintage photos by Alice and Peter Gowland of the Santa Monica beach scene during the war years are on display at g169 gallery, 169 West Channel Rd., Santa Monica Canyon. The artists’ opening reception is Saturday, December 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. Longtime Rustic Canyon residents, the Gowlands have been photographing beautiful women for more than 60 years. They have written 25 books related to portrait and glamour and have published 13 posing guides. The Gowlands have sold images for at least 1,000 magazine covers and they have photographed 10 Playboy centerfolds and several Playboy covers. Peter’s interest in photography developed as an outgrowth of being raised in Los Angeles by actor parents. The entertainment industry, the beautiful women it attracts, and the city’s Pacific Ocean backdrop combined to inspire his technique. Despite all of that, Peter insists that the prevalence of breathtaking models influenced his photography the most. At first, Alice frowned on Peter’s hobby of photographing women. ‘I did resent it,’ she recalled in a Palisadian-Post interview in 2000. ‘But then I sent some photographs to a couple of magazines and received $200 for each shot. That was a staggering amount of money in those days.’ During World War II, Peter worked as an engineering cinematographer for North American Aviation. He and Alice spent evenings and weekends taking portraits and shooting speculative advertising photographs. Pin-ups became popular with the armed forces, so Alice sold some of their beach pin-ups as magazine covers while Peter was in the service. The gallery exhibition includes about 80 photographs capturing the culture of California girls, Hollywood’s beach and the war years. Contact: 310-459-4481.

Will Rogers State Historic Park is hosting ‘A Very Vintage Holiday’ on Friday, December 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the park, 1501 Will Rogers State Park Rd. The evening will feature Dutch Newman and the Musical Melodians with Mikal Sandoval, plus actor Will Roberts offering his tribute to Will. In addition, guests will be able to tour the historic ranch house, drink eggnog and sample desserts. For tickets ($15 for adults; $7.50 for children), call 310-454-8212, ext. 201. Guests should dress warmly, as the event will be outside. Contact: www.WillRogersRanchFoundation.org.

If you hear that Palisadian Gavin Jones has been approached by ‘Police,’ don’t be alarmed! It’s not what you think. Besides, in Jones’s case, that would be a good thing. An aspiring writer who wants a career in TV writing and producing, Jones has been hard at work as a production assistant on the television pilot ‘Police,’ which wrapped up a seven-week shoot in downtown Los Angeles in October. ‘”Police” may get picked up,’ he tells the Palisadian-Post. ‘It’s a John Wells pilot, loosely based on the LAPD. He did ‘West Wing’ and ‘ER’ so we’re hopeful it’ll get picked up.’ Jones grew up in Westlake Village until the age of 11, when his family moved to Pacific Palisades, where ‘my dad grew up and my grandpa lived here, too.’ In 2005, Jones graduated from Palisades High School, where he was editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, captain of the four-times city champion swim team, and a member of the student council. At Syracuse, Jones majored in television, radio, and film and graduated in three years from the university’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. During that time, he spent a year abroad in London. Today, Jones, who at 18 pitched a reality show to producer Woody Fraser (‘World’s Funniest Commercials’), is not surprised by the current lack of scripted television in a market where game shows and talent competitions dominate. ‘I also think a lot of scripted shows haven’t appealed to viewers,’ Jones says. ‘I really see ‘Police’ affecting people. On this show, the cops go into serious issues that do happen in Los Angeles.’ While attending Syracuse, Jones completed various internships during his breaks from school. He worked on a NOVA documentary called “Saved by the Sun” about the global warming crisis. During the winter of 2006, Jones interned at Laura Ziskin Productions. The company had just wrapped up work on ‘Spider-Man 3’ when Jones came aboard to help preparation for the Academy Awards. ‘We made film-clip packages for the screenwriter montage,’ Jones recalls. ‘One intern and I did it together. It was to honor screenwriters and Ben Affleck introduced it.’ Shortly before graduating this summer, Jones was named one of the best writers at Syracuse, where he won the Intertext 2008 competition. ‘Eight students were chosen to be put in this magazine,’ Jones says. ‘Mine was a travel story about traveling to Greece”a spoof of ‘The Odyssey” Jones, who leans toward historical dramas (he wrote such a screenplay while at Syracuse). He credits Ron Cummings, his AP European History teacher at PaliHi, for whetting his appetite for the genre. He watches shows such as ‘The Tudors’ and ‘a lot of Showtime shows where there’s not a lot of marketing. I like when the stories are genuine and real and it’s not about the actors and marketing.’ Jones also enjoyed features such as ‘Blood Diamond.’ ‘It was very current and exposed you to a different part in the world,’ he says. Jones is eager to write for television. ‘I’d like to do teen drama, stuff like that,’ he says. ‘There’s so much that needs to be talked about, especially in the world today that isn’t talked about because of ratings.’ The determined writer is confident that by working on such shows as ‘Police’ in any capacity, he’ll be exposed to the creative side and eventually become a staff writer. Parlaying his swimming success and his previous lifeguard training in 2005. ‘I still am in Venice and Santa Monica part time [working as a lifeguard],’ Jones says. ‘You never know with writers’ strikes. I’m able to do it on the weekends. It’s been a great job. A lot of people haven’t been able to get a job. I write on the side to keep my creativity flowing.’