Thursday, July 23, 1998

Maudslay Shakespeare is fresh, expansive

AS YOU LIKE IT

By Lyn LeGendre

Theater in the Open's current Shakespeare presentation, "As You Like It," is perfectly situated in a shady, Maudslay State Park pine grove along the banks of the Merrimack River. The youthful cast enthusiastically embraces the expansiveness of the setting and the inherent merriment of the script.

A pastoral romance, "As You Like It" features numerous delights: court intrigue, a wrestling match, music, dance, a cross-gender disguise, a sylvan environment, high and low comedy, puns, satire, flirtations, the famous "All the world's a stage" speech, even multiple weddings at the happy conclusion.

Duke Frederick has usurped the kingdom from his older brother, now in exile in the Forest of Arden. The elder duke's daughter, Rosalind, remains at court, where she is very close to her cousin Celia, Frederick's daughter. When the dashing Orlando defeats Duke Frederick's wrestler and falls in love with Rosalind, the plot intensifies.

Subsequently banished by her uncle, Rosalind disguises herself as the youth Ganymede and departs with Celia, who pretends to be the country girl Aliena. As Ganymede, Rosalind is privy to Orlando's sighing over his apparently lost love. Contrasts develop: court life versus country life, sophistication versus simplicity, brutality versus gentility, sentimentality versus clear-sightedness.

In the Maudslay production, both Dukes are played by Kevin Scanlon.

This device succeeds because the two brothers would presumably look alike. Moreover, Scanlon puts a distinctive mark on each role, creating a harsh, imperious Frederick, as opposed to a much gentler, genial senior duke.

Sarah Huling excels as the fair young Rosalind, and she renders Ganymede with pluck and playfulness. Huling's skill is well met by Mary Godfrey, who charmingly portrays Celia/Aliena.

Whether wrestling or waxing poetic about his love for Rosalind, E. Ivan Hopkinson deftly portrays Orlando. John Sullivan's Oliver is also convincingly conceived and makes a smooth transition from envious older brother to kinder, smitten lover. Scott Smith captures the professional clown in Touchstone, as well as the realistic philosopher side of him.

All in all, this is an entertaining, light-hearted show. The Theater in the Open cast handles the Elizabethan dialect with agility, and their costumes are vast improvements over the sometimes shabby ones of previous productions. Those who might have difficulty following the plot twists will find help in the character descriptions included in the program.