ROSALIND:
I thought thy heart had been wounded with the claws of a lion.
ORLANDO:
Wounded it is, but with the eyes of a lady.
When Rosalind meets Orlando, the chemistry is undeniable. Their courtship will have to wait, however: almost immediately afterward, Rosalind is banished from court on pain of death. Meanwhile, Orlando returns home to find his own life in danger.
Accompanied by loyal cousin Celia and court jester Touchstone, Rosalind adopts the name “Ganymede” and travels in disguise to the Forest of Arden. When they discover that Orlando has fled to the same forest, Rosalind is delighted, but decides to stay disguised a little longer. Rosalind has a plan, you see, and it won’t work without Ganymede’s help.
Featuring one of theatre’s wittiest protagonists, As You Like It is stuffed to the gills with the best the Bard has to offer. This classic comedy plays with traditional notions of romance and gender, featuring friends, family members, and would-be lovers forming triangles, quadrangles, and other arrangements that defy geometry. With an updated cut of Shakespeare’s original script (and a few other surprises up its sleeve) our version of As You Like It is a raucous, joyful, musical celebration of the roles we play in life and love.
