Tuesday, June 21, 2016

As you like it across the street

I had been toying with the idea, a couple of months ago,  of doing a theater production on Summit Rock. So I was especially interested in seeing the Barefoot Shakespeare production of AS YOU LIKE IT performed there for the past few days.

That, and As You Like It is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. It's so good, but the ending is kind of bad, which is a shame. Although I have to say, although I'm not especially fond of the deus ex machina ending with the Greek god Hymen coming in to match up four couples, I didn't like what BS did either, which was to have the guy who played Adam - the old servant of Orlando - act as a sort of Hymen's representative. But I guess they had only so many actors to do the doubling up and that's why he got the gig.

I thought the actor who played Jacques and the actor who played Rosalyn were especially good, but there was a general all-around high quality to the cast and their musical interludes were quite good. Also their Charles the wrestle was much more exciting than any version I've ever seen.

And they made very good use of the space, which was a perfect setting for AS YOU LIKE IT. That play is almost as well-suited for Shakespeare in the park (actual park, not the Delacort Theater) as A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.