By William Shakespeare
Department of Theatre & Drama
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
Thursday, February 14 - Sunday, February 17, 2008
Overview
The Story:
It’s love at first sight when Rosalind and Orlando meet at a royal wrestling match. But love rarely takes a smooth course as Rosalind is banished from the court by her jealous, treachery-fearing uncle. Rosalind disguises herself as a man for safety when she takes up residence in the Forest of Arden. To her delight, Rosalind discovers that Orlando has also taken refuge in the forest to avoid his murderous brother. Finding Orlando’s truly horrible attempts at love poetry posted throughout the trees, Rosalind, in her disguised state, offers to teach him the finer points of courtship – in order to win herself! Will her deception work – or will Rosalind get too caught up in her disguise to lose her own heart?
Artistic Significance:
Written in 1599, As You Like It has delighted audiences with its brilliant dialogue for over 400 years. In Rosalind, Shakespeare created a most glorious female character - the largest female role in the entire Shakespearean cannon. Rosalind is a major force in the action of the play with her sharp intellect and witty tongue. The work also contains some one Shakespeare’s most famous passages including “All the world’s a stage…,” ‘the fool doth think he is wise…,” and the songs “Under the greenwood tree,” and “It was a lover and his lass.” A clever commentary on identity and role-playing, Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy is a play of merriment and humor, full of shimmering conversations, passionate possibilities, and the transformative effects of love.
Cast
Jaime Lyn Beatty (New York, NY), Josh Berkowitz (West Bloomfield, MI), Lee Chrisman (Kalamazoo, MI), Jonathan Christopher (Winchester, MA), Justin Creeden (Middleborough, MA), Corey Dorris (Ypsilanti, MI), Gordon Granger (Mamoroneck, NY), Lucy Head (Pinckney, MI), Brian Holden (Traverse City, MI), John Jarboe (Montague, MI), Daniel Kane (Northbrook, IL), Paul Koch (Mill Valley, CA), Ali Kresch (Hewlett, NY), Nick Lang (Franklin, MI), Lily Marks (Los Angeles, CA), Seth Moore (Larchmont, NY), Marc Paskin (Wilmette, IL), Alex Polcyn (Highland, MI), Kelli Rasmus (Houston, TX), Joey Richter (Laguna Niguel, CA), Dylan Saunders (Mill Valley, CA), McKean Scheu (Lawton, MI), Aaron Seeburger (Midland, MI), Matt Semler (Pittsburgh, PA), Joseph Walker (Cambridge, MA), Rebecca Whatley (Cincinnati, OH), Tiffany Williams (Largo, MD), Tom Wolfson (Armonk, NY)
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