Saturday, February 20, 2010
By STEPHANIE OTTEY
YOUNGSTOWN — While the world is enthralled by the centuries-old Olympic Games, YSU Theater is focusing its efforts on another tradition that returns every few years.
William Shakespeare once again is alive and well as “As You Like It” is presented on the Ford Theater stage.
“As You Like It” is one of Shakespeare’s more popular romantic comedies. The plot maintains the complexity that is found throughout the writings of Shakespeare but focuses on the primary theme of love.
While following the fate of Rosalind who, like her father, has been banished from her home, the audience meets an array of stock characters that confuse and illustrate the various forms of love. Sisterly love, fatherly love, romantic love and lustful love all are discussed and displayed as Rosalind searches for her father and her true love, Orlando.
According to a note from the show’s dramaturge, Timothy Francisco, “As You Like It” saw Shakespeare dabbling in pastoral writing. Pastoral art often explores the debate of what is natural vs. what is artificial. In a pastoral setting, artificial characters learn about their real selves and leave better because of it.
The Forest of Arden provides that pastoral setting in “As You Like It” and allows Rosalind and her fellow characters to find peace and love in the most natural and real form (though not without some comic deception).
The pastoral mood is set before the play begins by the Troubadours of Arden, a trio of musicians. The simple and soothing sounds of Randall Goldberg, Joe Finkel and Margaret Jones create an atmosphere of peaceful romance that charms the audience. The inclusion of these musicians is like a tasty appetizer that gets the audience hungry for the main course.
The musicians play in a wooded scene designed by John Murphy that enhances the organic tone of the room. Trees of fabric grow from stage to ceiling to create the soft canopy of the forest, and earth tones of greens and browns soften the rest of the simple set.
Murphy has created a very nice canvas for director Dennis Henneman and his cast to play on.
Henneman is known for handling the language and themes of early dramatic pieces with ease, and “As You Like It” proves no different. Though the cast is composed of stage veterans and newcomers, it is clear that Henneman worked hard to give every actor the same strong understanding of the Shakespearean dialect. The overall delivery of the complicated dialogue is clear and relatable with only minor exceptions.
Leading the way are veterans Nathan Beagle (Touchstone), Randall Brammer (Orlando), Deanna Scott (Rosalind) and Ryan Bisset (Jaques). These four actors are clearly the most seasoned of the cast with clever interpretation of the script and body language that makes them appear more confident than the less-experienced performers. Bisset is particularly engaging in his role and mastered the famous “All the world’s a stage” speech in a smarmy and sad way that was attention-grabbing.
Scott is a delightfully sweet Rosalind, who is only more charming when, in a very Mary Martin-esque way, she adopts the affectations of a man to become Ganymede. Her sprightly movements and soft voice are hard to ignore, but Rosalind’s comedic efforts to cover them up create some charming moments.
Newcomers Kayla Boye (Celia) and Ryan Newell (Oliver) also delivered surprisingly well-rounded performances. Both Boye and Newell are freshmen at YSU, but both provide clear characters and demonstrate a thorough understanding of the words they speak. Boye, especially, has a presence on stage that contradicts her brief r sum and is a pleasure to watch.
X“As You Like It” will be performed at 7:30 today and Feb. 26-27, and 3 p.m. Sunday and Feb. 28, at Ford Theater, inside Bliss Hall, at Youngstown State University. Call (330) 941-3105 for reservations.