When Sandra Oh’s eyes first land on Daphne Rubin-Vega, mid-interview, they light up. She lets out a happy shriek and runs over to Rubin-Vega, the two embracing tightly, as if they’re old friends. It’s a balmy June morning in Central Park in New York City and, even though they were about to do this Playbill photo shoot (and an upcoming show) together, this was only the second time the two had even spoken. “I saw you in previews for Rent!” exclaims Oh, saying she had seen Rubin-Vega in Jonathan Larson’s musical when it was first done Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. “This is so amazing. I can't believe I get to work with you.” She then tightly hugs Rubin-Vega again.
Responds Rubin-Vega, just as intently: “Thank you for just pulling me in, because you've just been an idea, a concept until now.” The two are currently acting in a New York institution: the Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night. This is their first time acting at the Delacorte Theater, and it marks an auspicious occasion. For one, the Delacorte has been closed for almost two years in order to renovate the theatre. The $85-million renovation includes new (and wider seats), spruced up and air-conditioned dressing rooms, and a new façade made of reclaimed redwood.
And this Twelfth Night (running August 7–September 14) unites artists of the stage and screen. Oh plays the much-sought-after Olivia, Rubin-Vega plays her mischievous lady-in-waiting Maria, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o plays Viola, her brother Junior plays Sebastian (in his stage debut), Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage plays Malvolio, Tony winner Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays Andrew Aguecheek, and John Ellison Conlee plays Sir Toby. Saheem Ali (of Broadway’s Buena Vista Social Club) directs this diverse production, which he has trimmed down to a one-act at 115 minutes.
Most of the artists involved have a long relationship with the Public. Though she may be known for Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve, Oh began her career in the ’90s in theatre—she and Jessica Hecht played lovers in Stop Kiss in 1998. Last year, Oh made her return Off-Broadway in The Welkin.
“Most actors, it’s on your dream list of things to be able to accomplish or experience one time in your life—to be on the Delacorte,” says Oh while standing at Belvedere Castle, looking out onto the Delacorte stage. “It’s kind of great that they're still working on it now. I see them putting up our set," she marvels.
Rubin-Vega’s relationship to the Public goes back even further, to when she was six years old and her mother took her to Hamlet in Shakespeare in the Park. She admits not remembering much about the production other than she loved the lilt of the names Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and that she wanted to be on the stage. “I'd rather be there than here. I want to be doing what they're doing. What they were doing looks like the ultimate fun!” she remembered thinking. “Whatever was happening on the stage was what I wanted to do, unequivocally.” Rubin-Vega also previously led the 2018 musical Miss You Like Hell at the Public.
And for Rubin-Vega and Oh, Twelfth Night is their opportunity to spread their wings as actors. As women of color, both admit that Shakespeare isn’t something they’re typically offered—even though Oh did the classics in college at the National Theatre School of Canada and loves Chekhov in particular, while Rubin-Vega played the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet Off-Broadway in 2013 (in another starry production with Elizabeth Olsen).
“I knew I was never going to do classics,” admits Oh, who early on in her career was told by a Hollywood agent that there was no place for an Asian actor like her. “It was the ’90s, and I was like, ‘Oh, I don't think I'm ever gonna put a corset on again.’ And I didn't, honestly, until now. So that's 35 years to be able to get on stage and do Shakespeare.” She then adds, "It's what I've done in my career that I think that I've been able to have this opportunity."
That same sense, of being underestimated, has also followed Rubin-Vega throughout her career, as she notes, “I often read things about me that said that I was more of an actor than a singer, or more of a singer than an actor, more of a dancer. If you Google me, it says that I'm a dancer, which is so 35 years ago.” She then looks off into the trees of Central Park, pensively, saying, “I think that the world sees and perceives me in a very, very different way than I see and perceive myself.”
The two actors bonded quickly that warm summer morning, as they posed together on the steps of Belvedere Castle. Oh tentatively laid her hand on Rubin-Vega's shoulder, to which the actor responded, "You can touch me." Oh jokes, "You don’t know what’s going on between Olivia and Maria."
Though they hadn't started rehearsals yet, both were excited to dig into the characters. Oh joked that her character, Olivia, who falls in love with Viola in disguise as a man, might even be "fluid," saying, "How am I gonna that sneak in underground? I feel like Olivia doesn't even understand how fluid she is."
Meanwhile, even though Maria is a handmaiden, she also gets her own subplot, where she trades witticisms and barbs with Sir Toby Belch, and concocts a prank involving Malvolio. "I am so thrilled to play this role that is such a live wire. She's a firebrand," says Rubin-Vega. "My dad is an American-born Jew from the Bronx. He just loved Western culture, but to turn it on its ear. So when I heard there was a rock opera version of La Boheme, and Mimi was a junkie stripper with AIDS." She chuckles. "I remember that just thrilled him to no end. So for my mom and dad, I'm going to rep Maria."
That is why Shakespeare in the Park is so special to many New Yorkers. It is performed outside—in the sun and the rain, under the stars—to an audience of New Yorkers who flock to the show with their families because it’s free. For many artists, it’s truly playtime and to show what they’re made of.
“I feel like there's no place to hide in theatre,” says Oh. “You have the play. But there's you, no one is telling the audience what to look at, how to look at it. There's no editing. There's no camera being directed.” She then chuckles, “There’s no best angles.”
And to Rubin-Vega, a joyous romance and comedy like Twelfth Night is also a way to bring joy to the audience—a way to help them escape the negativity of the outside world. “I feel hopeful because of shows like this,” says Rubin-Vega, before quoting a line from Rent. “The opposite of war isn’t peace, it's creation…I always say, if I suck, nobody dies. But if I'm good, people are affected. Their lives are touched and inspired in many ways. That’s a beautiful thing.”
Sandra Oh and Daphne Rubin-Vega
Sandra Oh and Daphne Rubin-Vega
Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh and Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Sandra Oh and Daphne Rubin-Vega
Sandra Oh
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Sandra Oh
Daphne Rubin-Vega
