‘As You Like It’ – By William Shakespeare. Directed by Harold Steward. Associate directed by Brooke Hardman. Scenic Design by Ben Lieberson. Lighting Design by Amanda E. Fallon. Costume and Sound Design by Harold Steward. Props Design by Saskia Martinez. Associate Sound Design by Mackenzie Adamick. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project in partnership with The Theater Offensive at Tufts University’s Balch Arena Theater, 40 Talbot Ave, Medford, MA through June 25
by Linda Chin
Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s current production of As You Like It, directed by artistic visionary Harold Steward, remains relevant and refreshing four centuries after it was first published in the Bard’s First Folio in 1623. This production also represents a first-time partnership between ASP and The Theatre Offensive.
Before the play begins, a man, strong and handsome but with a sullen countenance, crosses the stage several times carrying baskets of apples. It is Orlando (a compelling Mishka Yarovoy), whose older brother has denied him the money and education promised by their late father. In a later scene, Orlando unexpectedly wins both a wrestling match in the town center and the affection of the play’s heroine Rosalind (an effervescent Genevieve Simon). Shakespeare has imbued Rosalind with a strong-willed, dominating personality and, notably, 685 lines – the most given to any female character in his canon.
Due to dysfunction in their respective families, Orlando (and his servant Adam), escape to the Forest of Ardenne, and Rosalind (and cousin Celia) flee there in disguise. Orlando’s poetic side emerges, and Rosalind (with the assumed name Gendaryn) fights to overcome the limitations placed on women in 17th-century society.
Scenic and lighting designers Ben Lieberson and Amanda E. Fallon have created a setting where imagination flows. The stage has been adorned with trees that are two stories high, with tactile trunks and leaves of diaphanous flowy fabrics. In this magical setting, musicians playing acoustic instruments emerge on stage and in the stage balcony; dark corners are lit with a dozen lamps aglow with LED bulbs and no wires, to surreal effect. And it is in this scene that audience members of all ages (and the actors on-stage) are gobsmacked by legendary actor Bobbie Steinbach’s perfect portrayal of ques and perfectly enunciated and paced delivery of the verse that starts with the iconic line “All the world’s a stage.”
This production of As You Like It ends with star-crossed lovers Orlando and Rosalind and three other couples married in a quadruple wedding and Rosalind delivering the Epilogue – a job typically granted to male characters. All’s well that ends well in the Forest of Ardenne. Actors’ Shakespeare Project and The Theatre Offensive have created a production that people of all ages, genders, and incomes (pay-what-you-can tickets are available) will find delightful. For information and tickets, go to: https://www.actorsshakespeareproject.org/
