Proclamation • Orlando
(Ron Elwell) tries to declare his love for
Rosalind (Andrea Morgan), but can’t
find the words in the Long Beach Shakespeare
Company’s production of “As You
Like It.” Photo
courtesy of Kristen Autry
Musical abilities shine in troupe’s ‘As
You Like It’
By Jamie Rowe
Online Forty-Niner
Editor in Chief
One of Shakespeare’s most avant-garde plays, “As You Like It,” tells
the story of not only passion, love and romance between four couples, but also
within the characters themselves. Sadly, the Long Beach Shakespeare Company missed
the boat in its production of this play, despite some key acting from members
of the troupe.
While they did a spectacular job with “MacBeth,” the actors, for
the most part, seemed to be lacking in the passion department. Of the four couples,
only Celia (Nina Silver) and Oliver (Brian Koehler), and Touchtone (Bart Shattuck)
and Audrey (Jeralyn Shattuck) conveyed a true sense of love.
Silver and Koehler created such chemistry together, it’s hard not to believe
they didn’t just meet and fall in love at first sight.
While the romance between Touchtone, the court jester, and Audrey, the simply
country bumpkin, is supposed to be lacking, the two actors’ canoodling
on stage generated that warm fuzzy feeling we go to romantic comedies in search
of.
As for Orlando (Ron Elwell) and Rosalind (Andrea Morgan), the main couple, their
passion was desperately missing. The play centers on Rosalind teaching Orlando
how to love, and although the play showed the two marrying in the end, the actors
didn’t convince me they were happy lovers.
For Phebe (Melissa Miller) and Silvius (Brando Cutts), Miller accurately depicted
the ever-scornful country wench while Cutts did excellent job of portraying the
love struck, forlorn shepherd.
Aside from a lack of passion and connection with the audience, the troupe did
well with incorporating some classical Shakespearean elements. Keep an eye out
for the random music and humor in between each scene, as well as spots of singing
and comedy sprinkled throughout the work.
The play opens to a dark stage with four actors singing. The song can only be
described as something outerworldly, as not all four actors are singing the tune
at the same time nor at the same tempo. The cast, in particular Jeralyn, Miller
and Koehler, really pull the play together with their singing.
Bart does an excellent job playing the mandolin and singing little verses both
between scenes and during the action of the play. He fits the role of the fool
quite well. Whether through mocking the other actors or through his own antics,
he deserves applause for a job well done.
Another important musician in the show is 13-year-old Lauren Velasco, who not
only provides a comic character in Dennis, a servant to the tyrant Duke Frederick,
but also provides a soundtrack of sorts to the play through the use of her violin.
Her music is wonderful and adds an ethereal element to the play.
If nothing else, this production is good for a night of music and humor from
the most unlikely of characters. I recommend going during the end of the run
when the actors should be more polished.
“ As You Like It” runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and
Sundays at 2 p.m. through June 10. Tickets are $15 for general admission and
$10 for students.
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