When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Sept. 10.

Where: Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center. 110 E. Broadway, Glendale. (Allow time to find parking; note, some public lots post 3-hour limits.)

Tickets: $30-$34.

Length: 2 hrs. and 45 mins., including intermission.

Suitability: Teens and adults.

Information: 818-506-1983, http://www.antaeus.org.

Its remarkable that theatermakers have kept Shakespeares works alive for some 400 years. Its as remarkable that his works can still feel fresh and relevant, done the right way.

And it can be a thrill to see a sizable portion of the citys best actors taking on his roles.

Still, the story, language and subtext must come to life with clarity and purpose. Otherwise, why bother putting on this play?

Rob Clare directs Antaeus Theatre Companys As You Like It, at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center through Sept. 10.

What was his concept, his point of view here? Costuming might indicate that the era of his setting is timeless. Other than that, its hard to glean any purpose. And so the flaws in Shakespeares comedy of forgiveness show up glaringly.

It begins as Duke Senior (Bernard K. Addison) has been usurped of his throne by his brother, Duke Frederick (John DeMita), and has retreated to the Forest of Arden. Frederick, however, allows Seniors daughter, Rosalind (Julia Davis), to remain at court with his own daughter, Celia (Abigail Marks).

Meanwhile, two other brothers, the elder Oliver (Daniel Dorr) and younger Orlando (Daisuke Tsuji), sons of Fredericks late friend, live in constant conflict.

Orlando and Rosalind fall in love while at court. Angering Frederick, Orlando must flee to Arden; Rosalind is, coincidentally, simultaneously banished. She and Celia leave for Arden, taking the court jester Touchstone (Adam J. Smith). Rosalind and Celia disguise themselves, Rosalind as a young man, Celia as a shepherdess.

They encounter Jaques (Tony Amendola), the thoughtful observer and cynical commentator on even the happiest of lives in the Forest.

They also encounter shepherd Silvius (Adam Meyer), who pines for the uninterested shepherdess Phebe (Erin Pineda), who falls in love with the disguised Rosalind. William (Ben Atkinson) is smitten with goatherdess Audrey (Elyse Mirto), but so is Touchstone.

Orlando fails to recognize Rosalind but feels a strange connection to the young man she masquerades as. Meantime, Oliver and the disguised Celia fall in love.

Had this play been written today, critics would shred it. In the middle of this idyllic setting, Shakespeare provides a wrestling match. Just as weve started to figure out the characters and their relationships, in wanders Audrey in Act III, Scene 3, and here comes Phebe at Act III, Scene 5. They look like afterthoughts, hastily scribbled in to make a nice quartet of lovers for the big finale.

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At the plays end, the four couples marry, whether well-suited to each other or not.

If any of this bothers you, and you seek a plausible explanation for how the playwright of Hamlet could also have penned this one, heed George Bernard Shaw, who wrote of this play that Shakespeare was probably pandering to popular tastes here.

Where Shakespeares other plays delve into psychology and rely for plot points on human behavior and reactions, Shaw wrote that this one went straight for masses-pleasing superficiality, throwing it in the face of the public with the phrase As You Like It.

Still, it has its charms and glories. Memorable characters abound, as do metaphors and similies and perhaps thats the better explanation for the title. Shakespeare promotes pastoral living, kindness to all and gender equality.

So in some productions, it can be a rich, happy tale of love and forgiveness and peace of heart. With no apparent driving force, as here, its just a lot of words.

(This production is double cast; the Acorns cast was reviewed.)

Dany Margolies is a Los Angeles-based writer.

Rating: 1 star

When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Sept. 10.

Where: Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center. 110 E. Broadway, Glendale. (Allow time to find parking; note, some public lots post 3-hour limits.)

Tickets: $30-$34.

Length: 2 hrs. and 45 mins., including intermission.

Suitability: Teens and adults.

Information: 818-506-1983, http://www.antaeus.org.

Originally posted here:
Antaeus Theatre's 'As You Like It' isn't the way we like it - LA Daily News