“As You Like It” sparkles with love, spring radiance

Spring has arrived and so has Shakespeare Society's production of "As You Like It."

Raucous humor and blushful ardor punctuated Shakespeare's delightful pastoral comedy set in the Forest of Arden, where unrequited love and gender confusion abound amongst the young nobles banished from the region's royal courts.

The first scene opens with Orlando (Josephine Ho '12) in an extremely angry state because his older brother has refused him access to the family's wealth and education. The play moves quickly into lighter territory when Orlando falls in love at first sight with Rosalind (Christyl Waters '11). Rosalind is also in an awkward position as the young daughter of an exiled duke whose status has been unfairly usurped. Despite the gravity of betrayal of social standings and family names, director Sarah Moazeni '10 tactfully focuses on the blossoming love that a new season brings about.

The play finally settles into its comedic nature once all the characters go in search of shelter and safety in the Forest of Arden. The set for the performance, which was held in the Shakespeare House, consists of long white stripes of cloth painted to resemble birch trunks that subtly set the woodland backdrop without distracting—the focus was on the characters.

Moazeni jumped at the chance to work on "As You Like It" for the experience, in her last production with Shakespeare Society. "I especially love doing character work with actors, and this is a play in which we could really delve into the ‘realness' of the characters,
because it isn't a physical comedy, nor is it a tragedy."

But when Rosalind disguises herself as a man, Ganymede, to enter the Forest of Arden, the audience could not help but laugh—Waters was suddenly transformed from a petite angelic beauty to a crass boy wearing a baseball cap. In the forest, Rosalind comes upon the poems that Orlando leaves on the trees for her. However since Orlando has met Ganymede, Rosalind must overcome the humorous obstacles that result from being a woman, disguised as a man. As the complications unravel, the audience follows them deeper into the trees, meets new faces and encounters familiar ones.

The familiar faces of Rosalind's closest friend, Celia (Ashley Gramolini '10) and the self-obsessed Touchstone (Melissa Chu '10) serve as the highlights of the production. Gramolini's great comedic timing in the role of the sisterly and devoted confidante provided the other actors on stage with more enthusiasm and talent to feed off of with every interaction. Chu, however, got the most laughs by unabashedly embracing the debauched fool's unwavering libido. Her commanding voice andpowerful footsteps were surprising coming from her petite frame. As a result, when Touchstone
leaves the stage, he never does so quietly or without histrionics.

"As You Like It" is known for some of Shakespeare's most famous lines, such as "all the world's a stage" and "too much of a good thing," but the music the Bard ingeniously incorporated into the dialogue and plot are often overlooked. The moments of melody provided by Emily Hall '10, who composed the musical accompaniment on acoustic guitar, ends the show on a note of joyful harmony and optimism, evocative of blooming flowers and the shining sun. Indeed, spring has finally arrived.