THE BASICS: AS YOU LIKE IT, by Shakespeare, presented by Shakespeare In Delaware Park, directed by Steve Vaughan, opened on June 23 and runs through July 17, Tuesdays – Sundays at 7:15 on “Shakespeare Hill” now officially the “Saul Elkin Stage” in Delaware Park near Marcy Casino and The Rose Garden. These performances are free and open to the public (but bring some cash for the intermission pass the hat tradition). You can also buy merch (tee shirts, etc.). Bring your own seat or blanket, snacks and beverages, adult or otherwise, and after the sun goes down a jacket, perhaps a cozy blanket and some bug spray might be needed as well. Runtime: 2-1/2 hours
THE STORY, SORT OF: Usurping the throne, the cruel Duke Frederick (John Kreuzer) first exiles his brother, Duke Senior (Chris Guilmet), and then exiles his niece, Rosalind (“good” Duke Senior’s daughter) (Marissa Biondolillo), who gets gone while the getting’s good, accompanied by her bosom buddy, her cousin Celia (“bad” Duke Frederick’s daughter) (Jamie Nablo). Before Rosalind is banished, though, she crushes big time on Orlando (Darryl Semira) as he literally crushes Duke Frederick’s “muscle” – the wrestler Charles (Ben Caldwell) – in the fight ring. Why does Orlando risk his neck? Because the other heartless jerk is Oliver (Jake Hayes), the elder brother of Orlando, who has squandered the money expressly left by their father to provide an education for Orlando, who now needs the prize money to seek his fortune on the road.
On the road….now exiled, Rosalind and Celia ultimately find themselves in the Arden Forest, where all along her father, Duke Senior, has been living with his loyal followers. Who knew? For protection on the road, however, Celia has dressed as a peasant and Rosalind has disguised herself as a young man, Ganymede. She soon encounters Orlando, who is actually looking for the real Rosalind. Can the course of true love really be this smooth? Of course not. It’s Shakespeare, duh!. She knows who Orlando is, but he doesn’t know who Ganymede really is. Hijinx ensue with this “noble” couple, along with two other “rustic” couples including the shepherd Silvius (Joe Isgar) who can’t get it going with Phoebe (Marie Costa) because she’s after Ganymede (who is really Rosalind, remember?). And there’s also Touchstone (Norm Sham), the exiled court jester who constantly spouts sexual double entendres as he woos the clueless Audrey (Heather Casseri) who is also pursued by William (Joe Long). That’s it for the lovers. We’ll see a big lovers round-up at the end of the play, don’t you worry.
Rounding out the cast are Jaques the hermit (Tom Makar), Corin (Daniel Greer), Adam (Larry Rowswell), Amiens (Joey Bucheker) (who doubles as “Hymen, God of Marriage” at the end), Jacques De Boys (Edith Gregg) and “Denise”/Dennis in the original (Hannah Schubring) along with two character/musicians Mikyla Fisher and Jay Wollin.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: AS YOU LIKE IT is definitely Rosalind’s play and Marissa Biondolillo really steps up for this role. Her voice is well supported, her diction impeccable, and her overall joyous energy is infectious. Well-directed by Steve Vaughan, and superbly costumed especially as Ganymede by Todd Warfield, Biondolillo makes the role completely understandable for a 21st-century audience.
Other plays have depended on the stock humorous characters to keep our interest, and this play abounds with them, too, but Biondolillo, far from playing Rosalind as a dopey love-sick royal, is the entire package and provides a huge dose of the humor along with her role as, well, a love-sick royal.
Random notes:
#1. I had to leave opening night after intermission and so came back two nights later to complete my review. While the first time I sat on the left side of the hill, the second time I sat on the right and can highly recommend (as I have in the past) going twice. Now, to that advice, I can add this: sit somewhere different. This time around I was very much amused by Jamie Nablo’s reactions to Biondolillos’ headstrong actions.
#2. The on-stage musicians were remarkably strong and provided quite the ensemble, effectively used throughout the play, with violin, cello, flute, French Horn, and at the end, electric bass (played by Tom Makar as Jaques). The singing in this production, in particular Heather Casseri, is particularly good. Not always the case in the past, but it is here.
#3. I had brushed up my Shakespeare by attending the (also free) traveling performance by four actors who, as in the past two years, bring a sort of Shakespearean variety show to a neighborhood near you. Called THE BARD’S IN OUR YARD, congratulations to Sue McCormack, Sean Patrick Ryan, Josh Wilde, and Phoebe Wright for a fun evening (with Gabby McKinley at the merch table where I bought a “To honk or not to honk” car magnet).
As with the play TWELFTH NIGHT, the current play on the main hill also features a female character in disguise playing a male character. Since in Shakespeare’s time all the actors, by law, were men, the four set up a mock-quiz show wherein contestants had to answer whether various roles were: a man playing a man, a man playing a woman, or a man playing a woman playing a man. (Fear not, there is no audience participation.) There’s also a fun routine where all four play the famous balcony scene from ROMEO AND JULIET, with each person getting to play Romeo and each person also getting to play Juliet. The first round of THE BARD’S IN OUR YARD has ended, but they’ll be back in July. Find out if they’re going to be in your neighborhood here.
#4. Speaking of Shakespeare, I can also highly recommend the weekly “Britcom” (British comedy show on television) called “Upstart Crow” (an insult directed at Shakespeare by one of his real-life rivals, Robert Greene). Each week finds the bard responsible for writing a play as he gets inspiration from events in his life, events that cleverly parallel contemporary woes (traffic jams and inept government come to mind, along with living with, not Covid, but the plague). Plague as comedy? Yes, the clever writers of “Upstart Crow” make it so. Currently running on WNED PBS (check your local listings) it’s pretty funny.
But, back to AS YOU LIKE IT, this is a production worth seeing. Twice!
Photos courtesy Shakespeare In Delaware Park
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!