AS YOU LIKE IT

California Shakespeare is currently offering a superb, possibly PG-13, production of Shakespeare’s AS YOU LIKE IT.

While it may be true that autumn weather has already descended on Bruns Amphitheater, one would not know it to watch Celia and Rosalind do their sizzling Victoria’s Secret advertisement.

One might wonder, did they really have gossamer Lycra in Elizabethan England?

So where were the opera glasses?

After Rosaline sprints off stage topless, you might mistakenly assume that the show could not heat up any more, but Susannah Schulman cranks up the temperature when, as Ganymede, she passionately tutors an equally ardent Orlando in the romantic arts.

And who said that Shakespeare was prim?

Aside from the skimpy lingerie, ample skin and the searing exothermic passion of Rosalind, there is always the cool wit of Touchstone—masterfully played by the silver tongued Dan Hiatt.

It is doubtful that Shakespeare ever intended that the comedy of his play should begin and end with his script; director Jonathon Moscone has infused so much more into the show, that it nearly resembles a musical or possibly a variety show.

Original music, by Gina Leishman, is wonderfully performed by a mock Balkan Gypsy Trio that consists of Dan Cantrell on the accordion, Lila Sklar on the violin and Djordje Stijepovic on the bass.

Great vocals by MS Schulman and Julie Eccles (Celia) are qualitatively matched to their accompaniment.

Rod Gnapp, as Charles the professional wrestler, mixes it up well with Stephen Barker Turner, the underdog Orlando, in a fight scene that begs the question, “Is professional wrestling real?”

Fight Director Dave Maier puts together such a good Greco-Roman-WWF match one could almost hear the combatants’ joints popping, bones splintering and vertebrae cracking.

One might ask, “Is there a chiropractor in the house?”

Although domestic spying is not fashionable, this critic overheard many, seemingly seasoned Shakespeare aficionados pronouncing judgment on the play: the consensus was, this critic included, that this show was indisputably the best rendering of the AS YOU LIKE IT that anyone could remember seeing.

If you have seen AS YOU LIKE IT a dozen times, this production will impress you as much as it will delight and entertain you.

Tickets may be reserved by calling the box office at 510 548-9666.

Dress as if you were attending dog sled races.

Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle