As You Like It @ Ohio Theatre 10/1 Set in the 1930s, Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It isn’t very funny at the beginning, but soon moves away from the concrete, black-and-white starkness of the city into the lush, sherbet shades of the countrside, where comedy seems to grow amongst the trees and meadows of the Forest of Arden. But cross-dressing, mistaken identity, loyalty and treason also flourish in this environment.

When Duke Senior is unjustly banished from the court of his younger brother, Duke Frederick, two young women are also affected. Senior’s daughter Rosalind and her cousin Celia, leave in company with the court clown Touchstone. Precipitating this latter event are the actions of another set of brothers, Oliver (the bad) and Orlando (the good). Rosalind has fallen in love with Orlando at first sight, but when Orlando’s life is threatened he leaves the court as well. She disguises herself as a young man (Ganymede) to make good her escape, protect Celia, and learn more about Orlando.

Of course, being Shakespeare there are always multitudes of other characters in secondary (and even third-ary?) plots, but director Raisa Brainin keeps the pace at a brisk level, amply aided by the ever-present clowns, at which Shakespeare excelled. Scenic Designer Chris Pickart’s stark castle easily turns into the forest, with the help of a sliding panel or two. Enhancement also comes by way of the lighting, designed by Michel Klaers. Costumes by Devon Painter echo the stark/colorful image of the setting; black and white for the opening scene and luscious brights and pastels afterward. An interesting touch is the pastel borders on the formerly all white dresses, trousers and jackets.

Shakespeare’s plays also seem to require music more often than those of other playwrights. Brad Carroll does a super job for this production, with appropriate background music interspersed with sprightly tunes appropriate for the changing scenes. Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen and heard the five lords attending Duke Senior in a hip-hop version of ‘Hey, Nonny, Nonny!’. Honest! Fortunately for everyone concerned, Scott Plate is one of those lords, and he’s delightful when he bursts into song at all sorts of unexpected moments.

The cast was a bit uneven in places, but this may be because of the pressure of the ‘rep’-type season; most likely, they'll settle in soon. Jeff Cribbs is not only handsome but also a very athletic Orlando, doing flips and cartwheels in his joyful young-love mode. His Rosalind, Julie Evan Smith, was bright and pretty, but not very convincing as a boy. To be sure, she handled her two big speeches with aplomb; the “From the East to Western Ind” and the epilog.

Kathryn Cherasaro was spunky and perky as Celia, aiding and abetting her cousin’s disguise, while traveling through ‘foreign lands’. The Touchstone of Marc Moritz was a delight, as was his costume of form-fitting black and loose, billowy white, a multicolored all-in-one suit! Dougfred Miller as Jacques had the fun of extolling the ‘seven ages of man’ while Jerry Vogel played both Dukes.

Derdriu Ring was the love-lorn Phebe, gawky and persistent in her love of Ganymede, while ignoring the wonderfully rustic Silvius of Nick Koesters. Boogey-ing up a storm, as usual, Nina Domingue was her usual sassy self as Audrey.

As You Like It plays in rep through October 22 with Amadeus. For tickets to either of these productions (or other information) visit the web-site: http://www.greatlakestheater.org or call (216) 241-6000.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net (:divend:)