As You Like It
One of Shakespeare’s lesser produced plays, As You Like It is a comic tale that follows its heroine Rosalind (Jenny Ashman) as she flees persecution in her uncle's, or in the case of this version – her aunt’s (Megan Morrison as both Duke Frederick and Duke Senior), court to find safety and eventually the love of Orlando (Jeff Holden) in the Forest of Arden with her cousin Celia (Lovelle Liquigan) and court jester, Touchstone (Zack Price). Considered by some to be a less work of the Bard and by others to be one of the very best of his comedies, The Declan Adams Theatre with Jeffrey Morris in the director’s chair strives to update this classic in the setting of modern day Los Angeles and Venice Beach.
For the most part, this young cast makes the work sound as fresh as if it was coming right from your Television or a conversation you could hear on the street corner outside the theatre on Sunset. Ashman and Liquigan run away with show as Rosalind and Celia – bringing amazing laughs, bright moments and joyful spontaneity. Their scenes have so much heart as exemplified by the moment when Celia professes “Rosalind lacks then the love which teacheth thee that thou and I am one.” Zack Price as their clown Touchstone keeps pace with these two, with a sizzling wit and a wonderful command of the language and the humor.
Much of the other roles are double cast, with Eliza Kiss playing Corin and Audrey, Frank Astran as Adam and Silvius, Lourdes Uribe as Le Beau and Amiens and Jake Brown as Charles and William. The creative way that all these actors got to change from role to role, not only with physical but vocal transformations was simple and wonderful. A personal favorite of all the double casting was of Morrison as the two Dukes – and she showed the wonderful ying and yang of these family members with such grace.
The Duke’s court in Venice Beach, with the stoners telling stories of Jacques (played by Kerry Hennessy with a light, depressing air that was the much needed balance to so much love and happiness within the play) was so perfect, so funny and so natural one has to wonder why it hasn’t been used in a dozen other modern versions of this play. Jennifer Lane as Phebe and Erwin Tuazon as Oliver round out the cast with spot on, villainous performances from both actors – or at least as villainous as Shakespearian comedic characters get.
There were but a few flaws to the show. One was Jeff Holden as Orlando, who seemed to be on one note the whole show, not taking the love or rejection of Rosalind or the banishment and attempted murder from his brother with much seriousness. It was too rushed and one could see the difference in understanding in his scenes with Rosalind and Oliver. The other was the massive number of blackouts between almost every scene, where actors would leave the stage bare at the end of a scene and a music-less blackout would hamper the pace of the play.