Synopsis of the Play

"As You Like It" has been described as the 'Sweetest' of Shakespeare's comedies. It deals with two sets of siblings with no love-loss for each other, treachery, wrestling and a forest full of man-eating lions and people who fall madly in love with one another at first sight.

Orlando has been kept in isolation by his older brother, Oliver. He is indignant that he has not received his share of his father's inheritance or a proper education befitting his station. Meanwhile, Duke Frederick has tossed out his older brother, (Duke Senior) who has moved into the Forest of Arden with his own band of merry men. There they live like Robin Hood with the exception of Jaques who refuses to lighten up.

Meanwhile, Duke Senior's daughter, Rosalind and Duke Frederick's daughter, Celia meet Orlando, who has come to the Court to wrestle the local champion. Orlando and Rosalind see each other and fall madly in love at first sight. Orlando defeats the champion and then, to make matters worse, lets the Duke know that he is the son of one of Duke Senior's best friends. He is forced to flee into the forest.

Rosalind also gets banished to the forest and the Duke's daughter goes with her, taking along their servant, Touchstone. They change their identities. Rosalind puts her hair up and announces she is a boy, Ganymede, and Celia changes her dress and announces she is Ganymede's sister, Aliena. These disguises are comparable in subtlety to the clever Clark Kent-Superman, glasses on - glasses off trick that baffled Lois Lane for years. Not surprisingly, they work like a charm.

In the forest, Rosalind and Celia meet a young couple, Silvius, a shepherd who is in love with a beautiful shepherdess named Phebe. Phebe naturally, is taken in by Rosalind's clever disguise as a man, and falls madly in love with her/him. At the same time, Orlando is going about littering the forest with sappy love poetry dedicated to Rosalind. Rosalind confronts him as Ganymede, and convinces him to let him/her teach him how to woo Rosalind.

Then Oliver, Orlando's brother shows up and the two brothers reconcile when Orlando saves him from a man-eating lion. Oliver and Celia immediately fall in love at first sight. Rosalind shakes Phebe and tricks her into marrying Silvius on the rebound and all the couples get married. Finally, Orlando and Oliver's other brother shows up with the news that Duke Frederick, while invading the forest, met a hermit and, bang!, fell in love with the idea of also becoming a hermit and has restored the dukedom to Duke Senior. Happy Ending. Hooray!

"As You Like It" in the 20's?

What's up with that?

The Ridgedale Players 2001 presentation of William Shakespeare's "As You Like It" will be set in the 1920s. Whenever a production is moved from Elizabethan dress, the same question is always posed: 'what's up with that?'

The usual dismissive response goes something like this: 'Shakespeare is timeless.' This statement is then followed by a silent, condescending stare of the type originally coined and used by Marie Antoinette when responding to policy questions pertaining to the French peasantry. The tacit question implied by the look is that the language does not provide enough adjectives to express the utter contempt at the ignorance of the speaker. Only recently has the richness of the English language provided the speaker with the expressive, 'Duh,' which, when combined with the same uncomprehending stare, serves the speaker's purpose.

For those who think that a decent respect for the opinions of mankind deserves more, consider that only one of the themes expressed in the play contrasts the foibles of the Elizabethan court and city with those of the country. Even this theme has a universal conclusion. The way that we each view the world is subject to sudden change depending on the circumstances. The primary theme is romantic love. The path to true love is sometimes difficult to follow and is frequently based upon the deception of others. At other times it is based upon self-deception.

The action takes place in the forest of Arden. A fantastical place populated by friendly shepherds, hermits and man-eating lions. The total absence of lions, man-eating or otherwise, in England and Europe during the Elizabethan period, leads me, and others, to believe that the place and time were matters secondary to the themes of the play. Productions of the 19th century often placed the period of the play in the 17th century. I'm sure it has been produced in the romantic period as well. Recently, there has been a fad to place it in the 1960's, transforming the shepherds into hippies. (see review, elsewhere on this site.)

The 1920's is a period of time dimly remembered in our cultural consciousness as being a time of fun and irresponsibility before the sobering 1930's. Our nostalgia for the 20s is a nostalgia for adolescence; a time before the onset of sobering adulthood. This same feeling is expressed throughout the play and is a perfect fit. In addition, the play requires music which lends itself to the Jazz Age. Imagine what Helen Kane or Eddie Cantor could do with the lyric, 'Come lie with me under the greenwood tree.' With luck, we'll find out.

In short, this work, like all of Shakespeare, is …. Oh, Geez, what's the word …? :)